Kannazuki no Miko: Lovers Eternal
by Tsuyazakura Kouyuki
Summary: In the City of Mahoroba, on the birthday of two maidens, a Dark Sun appeared across the sky, bringing down its wrath upon the earth. Why are two school girls drawn into this conflict between good and evil? And are good and evil what people perceive?
1. Prologue: The beginning of an end

_Disclaimer: _Kannazuki no Miko and all its characters are properties of TNK Studio and GeneonEntertainment. They do not belong to me. This work is purely fiction and only meant to be a token of love and gratitude toward an anime series, a masterpiece that I truly love._**  
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_**PROLOGUE: THE BEGINNING OF AN END.**_

* * *

Stepping out of a Dimensional Portal – one carefully shielded to avoid unwanted eyes – she arrived high upon a sky the cerulean shade of which stretched all the way toward the horizon. Below her, Izumo the Holy City – shaped in a great disc spanning at least a hundred miles in radius, providing cozy accommodation for a little more than four million people – stood gleaming in the shines of the morning sun like a pile of precious stones. 

On either side of the Ama no Ukihashi, the prettiest boulevard in Heaven, store after store lined up under the cool shade of the sakura trees that blossomed year round. On the clean, granite-paved road Gods and Goddesses treaded leisurely while conversing with their respective companions in a low, murmuring voice. Their eyes, troubled and weary, glanced around quite often as though expecting an assassin to leap out from any of the others' shadows, or perhaps their own. Well, the Immortals certainly found their _assassins_ when two men emerged from the upcoming intersection, for their legs stopped walking, their mouths clamped shut, and their gazes turned prickly enough to do a needle proud.

The men were young and handsome enough to make a woman turn her head. Yet it was not their faces the Immortals fix their ominous glares upon. It was the sleeves of their snowy cape, adorned at the wrists with the gleaming golden pentagram inscribed within a circle, the very symbol of the Holy MessengersDivision,Home of all Spies

The Immortals of Heaven stood perfectly still and watched the Messengers, sauntering haughtily without a care whom they might bump into, barely concealing their disgust. In the eyes of Izumo's residents, the Messengers were probably as likable as a den of vipers, poised to strike the unaware who fell into their midst. Of course, the men might not know it but their actions had but tainted their names. A word they whispered into a wrong ear might drag some poor fool to the Sanctum Core for interrogation. And the Messengers rarely spoke more than a word. Well, no one would be accused wrongfully, thanks to the flawless system maintained in the Core, yet being stared down by the Celestial Assemblywas by no means a pleasant experience.

As though sensing the hostility of the people around them, the Messengers' faces turned a trifle gray and their pace quickened considerably. Still, even after they made a hasty turn and vanished behind a small alley of the Ama no UkihashiBoulevard, the mood of the bystanders did not improve very much. The Gods and Goddesses resumed their activities, yet their grim, almost identical expressions spoke volumes of what they must be feeling inside.

On an interesting note, if the Immortals paid the Holy Messengers every scrap of their attention, they directed none toward the twelve steel obelisks towering over Izumo in the distance. Truth be told, they bloody well pretended that those prickly metal blocks never existed. They had been quite displeased when the Lord of Izumo said he was going to build those things, and furious when the man ignored their disapproval. After all, the Kusanagi Pillars all but declared that their freedoms in Izumo dangled by a very thin thread, a fact none liked to be reminded of. She but wondered why the Immortals still had not considered immigrating to Reiha, though. The Heart of the Underworld had always been a more beautiful place, and also one where people were allowed as much freedom as they wished unless they violated the laws. Of course, the Sealing Field of the Crystal Roses would lock up their powers during the first year they lived there, but...

She gave her head a slight shake. She was wasting time when she could not afford to. Eyes tracing the pattern of the Invisibility spell to make sure the thing still held, she descended toward a building in the east side of Izumo, one looked like a giant hexagram from the bird's eyes view. As usual, the Memories Hall was unguarded, its vicinity without a wandering soul. Of course. The Immortals rarely went here unless in dire need, for they resented the countless invisible Seals and Barriers woven around the building. Who knew what trap would spring should they venture too near? She herself was aware that in her current state, one wrong step might just unravel her already fragile existence. But then, the Immortals of Izumo were ever cowards. She, on the other hand, was not.

Standing in front of the Memories Hall, she channeled her celestial powers so that they reached out to every hidden Seal and Barrier. To her satisfaction, those vicious things retreated to either side, clearing a path leading straight toward the entrance. She smiled. It seemed she still could exert some control over them after all. The smile slid off her lips in a second, however, when she sensed a presence of power within the confinement of the Hall. There could be no mistake. The Keeper was in there.

She grimaced. _Why was he here?_ True, the Hall was his office but the man only worked in there twice a week due to his other duties to Heaven. Certainly today was not his working day... unless his schedule had changed during the time she was absent from Izumo, which was very likely now that she thought of it. _"Worst of luck,"_ she muttered irritably.

She considered turning back, and firmly rejected the cowardice idea. It had taken her forever just to gather enough strength to break through the Dimensional Boundary protecting Heaven. Not just that, the situation was dire. She had to do something or risked losing her most precious possession for all eternity.

She opened the doors and walked straight in, determined to be brave. It was not that she feared the Keeper. She knew too well the man would not harm a strand of hair on her head, much less take her life. Yet the possibility that he might refuse to cooperate horrified her. She did not possess enough power to bend him to her will like she used to. Should the man wish it, she would have no other choice but to return empty-handed and suffer by herself. She sighed. A slim chance she might have, it was still a chance.

"You..." The Keeper of the Hall of Memories, more handsome than any man she had seen on Earth, widened his eyes upon her entrance. Although she wore a deep hood that cast a dark shadow upon her face, she knew he still recognized her. He would have struck otherwise.

Silence hung above the marble platform that floated upon the sparkling Sea of Memories. Beyond them a crystal tower stood, its smooth surfaces catching the light from the Sea and reflected it like the best-polished mirrors. A gigantic platinum ring, bearing the vertical Sun and Moon Crests on opposite sides, revolved soundlessly around the structure. She frowned. _The Tower of Kannazuki!_ So that was why the Keeper lingered here.

Biting her lips, she sank to her knees and bowed, her forehead made an audible thudding sound upon the platform.

"I beg of you, nii-sama," she pleaded, "please..." Her nii-sama the Keeper should know what she wished for. He should know why she came to this place despite the risk.

"Fine." The man in front of her sighed. Her head jerked up in surprise. She knew he had always been fond of her... yet she never expected him to disregard the rules so.

"I am most grateful to you, nii-sama." She bowed to him again, scrubbing the tears already flowing down her cheeks with her sleeves and trying to swallow a sob. All these painful and heartbreaking years had finally come to an end. She rose to her feet, every of her particles trembling in joy.

"No need... for that," the Keeper said slowly while turning around, his arm stretching toward the block of crystal on the other side of the platform – the One Terminal, the device that controlled the Memories Hall. He stopped dead when a holographic screen popped out of thin air.

"Why have you not released them? The Lord's patience in growing thin, I shall have you know that!" the face of a haughty-looking man spoke with a voice no lovelier than his demeanor. A lump of something rose in her throat. She knew him. Yuusaku the Chief of the Holy Messengers, right-hand man to the _bastard_ Lord of Heaven himself. "Hey! Who is there behind you?"

An orb of blinding light enclosed in a net of roiling lightning leapt upward from the Keeper's palm.

_Run! Run now!_ the Keeper's voice said urgently in her head. _Come back when you have the chance!_

The orb of light struck the platform a few feet to her right and exploded, sending shards of stones all over the place. She rushed toward the Hall's entrance.

_"Intruder!" _Yuusaku's voice cried behind her at the same time deafening sirens blared over her head.

Putting a safe distance between her and the Memories Hall, she halted and wove another Portal. Yet, just when the sparks emerging from her hand managed to coalesce into the silvery surface of the dimensional entrance, a streak of white lightning sheared the thing and dissolved it.

She stared in horror at the twelve oversized obelisks surrounding Izumo now glowing white like metals heated to near melting. The Kusanagi System had been activated, and she bet she knew what target they had been set to eliminate, too.

Lightning fanned out from the twelveKusanagi Pillars, knitting a large white cloth that hid the cerulean sky. Thunder rumbled loudly in the air. She swallowed. Was there any chance at all for her to leave this place and still live afterwards?

Probably not.

Lightning bolts, thick and searing-bright, danced downward from the heavens. She elevated herself into the air, gliding and changing her directions almost instantly to avoid being hit. Slowly, her determination and confidence faded as panic welled up in her soul. More blasts came after every second, eventually forming a jungle of lightning connecting heavens and earth. She halted dead in midair, for even the smallest movement would crash her into one of those crooked bars of blazing light. Her heart stopped beating as the lightning bolts began to drift toward her. They were going to blow her to dust...

Out of the blue, two vertical discs of white light emerged, one to her left and one to her right. Quickly, they rushed toward each other, erasing her body as they went. Before the lightning bolts could touch her, she had already been safely transported into a dimensional passageway. In there she stood, trembling. Nii-sama had saved her, she knew. However, her gratitude for him could not diminish the grief that was clenching her heart. She cried. _Come back to see him when she had the chance,_ the Keeper had instructed. She was not sure she would have any more of those until she was dead...

* * *

"Have you any idea who that intruder is?" the ever-glorious Lord of Heaven said to the Keeper from the holographic screen. The man, looking so youthful he could have been mistaken for the Keeper's brother, sat behind the desk in his spacious study, peering coldly at the Keeper over his interlaced hands. Next to him Yuusaku the ChiefMessenger stood, face grim and somewhat furious. It did not sit well with the man that his precious Kusanagi System failed to destroy the girl, the Keeper wagered. 

"I have none, father," on his knees, the Keeper answered. "_He_ barely entered when Yuusaku contacted me. I never had the time to identify _him_."

Yuusaku glowered at the Keeper in plain disbelief, but at least he kept his peace. The Keeper was thankful he was not in the Sanctum Core at the moment, for a lie spoken there would have gotten him into deep yogurt. But on the other hand, though, there was no chance his Father would deliver him to that place. The Ruler of Heaven was _afraid_ of the Core as much as any other person in the Holy City, if not more, of course.

"Is that so?" the Keeper's father said levelly.

"It is so, Father," the Keeper answered, his voice calm and collected. He had always been a good liar.

"Very well," the Lord of Izumo nodded, "you may proceed with your duty. I shall set the Messengers to hunt down the intruder." Yuusaku gave the other man a quick, exasperated look. He must have been wishing that his liege lord would not refer to the Messengers the way he would a hunting hound... The Keeper suppressed a chuckle.

"As you command, Father." The Keeper gave the Lord a respectful bow as the holographic screen winked out of existence. He rose to his feet, laughing softly to himself. That was close. He wondered what would have happened had Yuusaku's screen appeared when the Keeper _was giving_ the girl what she came here to take.

He put his hand upon the cold top of the One Terminal, the crystal block standing upon the platform, and entered his commands. The girl was truly unlucky to have chosen today to sneak into Izumo. Had she come on another, she would have gotten what she needed without raising a fuss. He sighed. Well, he would try to find a way to grant her wish, if he could.

The clear, cloudless sky of the Memories Hall darkened as a massive whirlpool of black light appeared over the top of the Kannazuki Tower. The Gate to the Cycle of Death and Rebirthhad opened, allowing access to the eternal current comprised only of the mortals' souls.

The floatation ring of the Kannazuki Tower stopped turning. The Sun and Moon Crests began to glow with golden and silver light. The Keeper peered at a holographic screen that showed the interior of the Tower. The chains were being withdrawn from the Altars, the Seals placed upon their prisoners lifted. The time had come.

_Release,_ the Keeper thought.

The Gate to the Cycle expanded, the thunder roared, and lightning came from within the dark whirlpool, coiling around the Tower's platinum ring. The Sun and Moon Crests' surfaces rippled like that of a pond when disturbed by a pebble. From the two vertical plates emerged two spheres of light, one silver, one golden, both shining more brightly than the midday sun. The Keeper sighed as his Immortal eyes caught a glimpse of their interior. Two teenaged girls, dressed in the traditional chihaya and hibakama of Priestesses, stood within the confinement of the spheres, untouched by the passage of time.

The Keeper massaged his temples, guilt and shame wrecking his soul apart. He had no part in inflicting pains upon them, yet he had been the one guarding them for the last three thousand years, he had been the one who made sure their cycle of suffering would continue forever and ever. In a way, he was as vicious a criminal as the one who trapped them in the Tower and drowned them in grief.

_"Go now, children of the Lunar Shrine,"_ the Keeper recited the ritual phrase. _"Go in the blessing of Heaven and protect the peace of the Human World." _

The two spheres of light rushed upward and vanished into the darkness of the Cycle's Gate. A second later, the whirlpool vanished.

The Keeper turned toward the exit of the Memories Hall, sighing in pain as he walked. _Protect the peace of the Human World?_ That was an outrageous lie. He knew full well why the two girls were sent there, why they had to sacrifice their future... and their love.

The Keeper pushed the doors open and walked out. In front of the Hall he stood, his head turned toward the Heavenly Palace in the heart of Izumo. He knew his beloved elder sister was in there, out of earshot, out of sight... yet somehow... he could faintly hear her weep.

* * *

"Do you feel that, Akira?" Yui said, not turning back to face the person she was speaking to. Instead, she looked straight ahead at the field of white lilies covering everything from outside the room to the distant horizon. On high, the sun was shining. Down low, the flowers were stirring as though a wind was blowing across the land. Ironically, neither the heat of the light nor the movement of the air touched her when they should have. "The Priestesses of Kannazuki had been loosed on the world," she continued as her hand drew the shoji door shut. There was no point in looking too long at an illusion, however beautiful it might be... 

Yui settled herself on an armchair and studied the other person in the room carefully. Akira, looking like a man who had been starved for days, slumped motionlessly in his own chair, staring bleakly ahead. Yui did not believe he saw anything with his unblinking eyes. His chest would still rise and fall, however weakly, yet all she could perceive out of him was but a breathing corpse. She sighed. Perhaps Yui's youngest brother was not as handsome as the Keeper of the Memories Hall but the Goddesses in Heaven never stopped swooning over him whenever he walked the streets. She doubted any of those giddy women would want him with his haggard and emotionless face now.

"Seventeen years..." Yui whispered softly, "just another seventeen years, dear Akira, and you shall be free. I promise. No one will stand in your way, and hers, anymore."

Akira gave no sign that he heard.

Yui sighed again and stood to leave. In a flash of golden light, she was gone and reappeared outside, beneath the starlit heavens. She would return to visit him again some other time, though. Laughing quietly to herself, she opened a Dimensional Portal to leave the surface of the deserted Moon. The Holy Messengersmight be watching her closely, but she would lose them as soon as she could find a large crowd of mortals. That lot never realized that they would never learn what Yui was scheming. Well, they would in the future, when Heaven itself trembled in her wrath.


	2. Distant paradise

_**EPISODE ONE: DISTANT PARADISE.**_

* * *

_T__he glorious light of the morning streamed through the window of room two-oh-four of Ototachibana Dorm and filled the space with its dazzling brilliance. Outside, one floor below, the chirping of the birds mingled with the sound of Suzuhara Aiko-san raking the dead leaves so they would not litter around her territory, which the elderly Dorm Manager protected as vigorously as she would her own child. A few minutes from now, the kind lady would return to her office and push a button somewhere on her desk to make all the alarm clocks in the building go off at once. It was how she woke up her _girls'_– what she called the students of Ototachibana Academy who lived in the Dorm under her care – every morning and told them their classes were going to start. The problem was that even if the alarm were ten times as loud, even if Suzuhara-san came up to knock on the door herself, Kurusugawa Himeko still would _not_ leave her bed. Why would she want to, when she was _kissing_ someone anyway? _

_On the lower level of the double-decked bed, on the soft mattress Himeko sat, her eyes closed, her lips engaged with another pair in a kiss passionate enough to thaw ice. Had the arms of her one and only significant other not been entwining around her waist the whole time, she would have melted into a puddle and slipped off the bed. _

_Breaking away from her lovers sweet, gentle lips and trying to catch her breath, Himeko looked up only to find a face not even the word _beautiful_ was worthy of. Still in the warm embrace of the one she loved, Himeko leaned the side of her face against the heaving chest of the most wonderful person living and listened to the mesmerizing melody of an amazing heart that was beating right next to her ear. _

_"You came to see me before the sun could rise," she murmured, her hands reaching up to caress a smooth pair of cheeks where more and more spots of crimson bloomed after her every touch, "then you swept me off my feet with your kisses. What is it you want to say?" _

_A soft hand cupped Himeko's chin and gently lifted it up so she could look straight at her lover's eyes. Those two pools of light seemed to be drawing in every scrap of Himeko's existence. She suspected that once she had fallen into them, she would drown without the hope of learning how deep. _

_"What do _you_ want me to say?" an amused voice answered her. Himeko inhaled deeply, wondering whether she was getting drunk from hearing the words. Such a lovely voice... such a pretty pair of lip... She wanted to be kissed again. _

_"What any girl would like to hear, dummy," Himeko answered softly, heat blooming in her cheeks. What would her late parents think if they heard her say this, if they learned who was it their daughter had fallen so hard for? _

_"Very well then," quiet laughter was chiming like crystals, lips ever drawing closer, fingertips burning with the heat of flames. "I love you, Himeko, more than anyone in the world." _

_Himeko gazed at her lover, feeling like weeping at the words she had wished to hear for so long. _

_"I..." Himeko began. Before she could finish what she meant to say, the door to her room sprang open to reveal the intimidating figure of an angry Saotome Makoto, her roommate. _

"Himeko!"_ Mako-chan shouted, her eyes blazing with a fierce light, her mouth roaring with a blood-red flame. Behind her a pair of leathery wings unfolded. _

"Himeko! Himeko!" Mako-chan's voice said as the same time a pair of hands grabbed her shoulders and shook. "Wake up, or we're going to be late, come on!"

Eyes fluttering open, Kurusugawa Himeko winced at the bright morning light that was shooting through the numerous windows of Mahoroba City's public library. She was sitting in one of the building's several Knowledge Chambers – enormous rectangle rooms decorated with rows after rows of tables and chairs and little else beside some flower pots here and there along the feet of the walls, which were painted with a dull white color. The Chambers were places where people who wanted quietness came in and studied until they passed out from the knowledge they tried to stuff into their brains, or so the other students in Ototachibana Academy – Himeko's school – believed.

Himeko straightened up in her chair, pulling her hand over her lips while stifling a yawn that would probably unhinge her jaw. She had dozed off on the table, it seemed... She blushed furiously when she recalled what kind of dream she had in her sleep, though. Himeko glanced at her roommate – Saotome Makoto, whom she addressed intimately as _Mako-chan_ – and gulped down a squeak. It had not been nice of her to picture the other girl that way... She was suddenly glad that Mako-chan didn't have the power to read dreams. The girl would have been displeased over this particular one... and probably mad at the others prior to it... although for a different reason, Himeko reckoned.

"You don't get enough sleep or something, Himeko?" Mako-chan sighed. "For goodness's sake, I was gone for barely more than half an hour and I came back to see you snoring as loudly as any man!"

"I don't snore!" Himeko protested and gave a start when she realized she had come very close to shouting. The other students in the Knowledge Chamber, scattered around the numerous tables, shot cross looks her way and made heat rise in her cheeks again. "I... don't snore..." she muttered in a much lower voice while Mako-chan chuckled softly over her head.

"Why are you so sure?" Mako-chan said. "You can't hear yourself in your sleep now can you?"

Mako-chan was teasing Himeko, of course, the way she always did whenever she found a chance, but within every of her words was warmth of a friendship as strong as anything could be. Many people might think that one year together wasn't long enough to even mention but during that one year, Mako-chan and Himeko really hit it off. Well, Himeko had always been a shy one so at the beginning, what they would do when they met one another in their own room was smiling in awkwardness as though separated by an invisible wall. Then their relationship improved vastly, all thanks to the other girl. Himeko's friend had made an effort of getting to know her, of trying to be closer to her. Bit by bit, the wall crumbled. Now, Mako-chan had become one of the two persons Himeko could trust. _The other person_, well, Himeko still had trouble deciding if she wanted that person to be _just_ her best friend or a...

"Forget it," Himeko mumbled and focused her attention on fixing the red ribbon that tied the back of her hair. If she ignored Mako-chan, the girl would drop her assault soon enough. It had _always_ been so.

"Ne, sleepyhead?" Mako-chan poked Himeko's shoulder gently with her forefinger.

"Hmmm?" Himeko favored the other girl with a sweet smile.

"Did you have a nice dream?"

Himeko almost gave a start at Mako-chan's sudden question. She didn't really have the power to see people's dreams, did she? Himeko shivered. She wasn't so sure now.

"Why'd you ask?" Himeko said carefully, then swallowed nervously when she heard a tinge of uneasiness in her own words. She hoped the other girl wouldn't notice.

"'Cos I saw you smiling in your sleep." Mako-chan smiled, then added, "you blushed, too, by the way. Dreaming of someone you like?"

"Not... exactly." Himeko winced a little. Lying was bad, especially to her best friend, but she didn't have a choice. It would be devastating if Mako-chan found out who that person was. Himeko really, _really_ didn't want her to.

"Oh, then what is it?" The twinkling in the girl's eyes upturned Himeko's stomach. For some reason, she suspected that Mako-chan _knew_...

Fortunately for Himeko, the other girl glanced at her wristwatch and realized in horror that it wouldn't be long until their first class started. They had come here early because Mako-chan wanted to find a book on healthy eating habits for an athlete – she was in the Academy's track and field team. Their time was now up. The brown-haired, emerald-eyed girl dropped the question and dragged Himeko out of the public library.

Since the building was next door to Ototachibana itself, it took Mako-chan and Himeko little time to arrive at the gate of the Academy, where they began to climb the stairs leading to the campus along with other students. Mako-chan took two steps at a time, and small wonder she could. Himeko bet her roommate could even take three if she tried hard enough. Herself... well, she climbed only one at a time. Any more and she would risk stumbling down the whole flight of stairs and becoming the school's laughingstock.

Embarrassing as it was to admit, Himeko was the furthest thing from nimble. She tended to fall down a lot, earning herself numerous bruises as the weeks went by. Strangely, though, her skins healed quite fast compared to others' so in two days at most, not a scratch would remain on her unblemished skin. Himeko had always wondered whether such rapid healing ability made her some kind of freak. Not that she wasn't one already, of course...

Climbing upon the stairway while cautiously watching where her feet were landing her, Himeko heard the other students chatting excitedly about someone's birthday. Well, she didn't have to be a genius to be able to figure out whom. There was but one person whose mere birthday could create this much of a ruckus. For crying out loud, this topic had been the only thing on everyone's lips ever since last week, if not earlier.

"What are you wearing for Miya-sama's birthday tomorrow, Izumi-san?" one girl asked.

"Not sure. How about you, Miho-san?" another replied.

Himeko tried to catch up to her roommate, and sighed in exasperation when the three girls walking ahead gathered together and inevitably blocked her way. Himeko knew them. The blue-haired girl was Takada Izumi, one who named herself the President of Miya-sama Fanclub and the other two were her vice-presidents, supposedly. Truth be told, she didn't think she'd like to join their crowd. Izumi might look like a frail girl but she wielded much power in this campus. Almost every girl in Ototachibana Academy who idolized the resplendent _Miya-sama _was under Izumi's command, after all. The girl did outrageous things, and embarrassing ones, at that, so Himeko always wondered why the_Himemiya princess_ was still putting up with it.

"Excuse me, please let me through," Himeko said. Yet, _the Fanatic Trio_, some called them so behind their backs, was too engrossed in conversation about what they might buy to give to their precious Miya-sama to notice. And then, one more girl rushed by to join their conversation. Himeko could only stare as the newcomer knocked her out of balance and inevitably pushed her off her feet. She fell.

"Himeko!" She heard Mako-chan scream. She would have screamed, too, had a lump of something not stuck in her throat, not letting the smallest sound come through. Suddenly, a hand thrust out to grasp hers and drew Himeko back up. The unknown hand, strangely soft and warm, never stopped pulling until she ended up in its owner's tight yet utterly gentle embrace. Himeko's savior was another girl, taller than herself by half a head, a girl whose soft floral fragrance suffused the air around her, whose long, shiny hair was as blue as the deepest ocean, whose face was as glorious as that of an angel, and eyes as shiny as the most beautiful sapphire gem on Earth. Himeko felt her heart racing, her mind numbing from the touch the girl was giving her. She was...

"Miya-sama!"

"It's Miya-sama!"

"She's so pretty today!"

"Who's the girl she is holding? I'm so jealous!"

"Are you unhurt?" the taller girl's soft and melodious voice whispered to Himeko.

Realizing that her hands were circling the Himemiya princess's waist, Himeko jerked out of the embrace, stuttering:

"No, thank you. I'm okay."

Smiling gently, the other girl said, "Be careful, Kurusugawa-san. And have a good day."

With that, she glided past Himeko, but not before she whispered something softly enough for Himeko's ear alone and made her blush furiously. Yet, Himeko smiled and said after her, "Have a good day, Miya-sama."

* * *

Saotome Makoto's heart throbbed painfully inside her chest as she watched Himemiya Chikane, Miya-sama the school adoringly called her, walked past her roommate – a very flustered Himeko – and then, Makoto herself, seemingly undisturbed by the unrelenting eyes everyone else glued at her back. Makoto's fists clenched. Her arms shook in an attempt to keep them from punching something, or someone. She waited for Himeko to catch up with her on the stairs and went with the girl to their class. _Why does it have to be her? What does she have that I do not? _she thought bitterly.

* * *

Hiding herself among the noisy students, the watcher gave her lips a thoughtful tap. The way those two girls reacted around one another... was suspicious. She chuckled. It seemed that some things never changed after all. Admirable, indeed. Too bad they were in her way, or she would have tried her best to help them be free from their destiny. 

Leaving the crowd, which was breaking apart as soon as Himemiya Chikane faded from view, she walked toward the same direction Kurusugawa Himeko and her friend had. She needed to observe the girl for a little more before she decided what course of action she must take, of course.

Passing by a large fountain, the watcher caught of a glimmer of herself on the rippling water surface. She smiled. She looked... so youthful, so similar to any other teenaged girl in this campus, that she doubted anyone would believe her should she tell them her true age. She had only thought of changing her appearance because she wanted to blend in but now since she looked nice this way, maybe she would keep it for a little longer. Chuckling softly, she wondered what _he_ would do were he to lay eyes upon her this very moment? Blush and stammer, most likely. The man had always been shy.

* * *

Just as Kurusugawa Himeko finished putting her notes and textbooks on her table in the classroom, Mako-chan began the assault. "That was great, _just_ great. Tell me, how did she hug you?" inquired the athlete. 

"That was not a hug, Mako-chan. Not that big a deal."

Wrong answer.

_"Not that big a deal!" _Mako-chan exploded. "Our Miya-sama, Himemiya Chikane-sama, is the _precious daughter_ of a family that goes back at least a thousand years! She illuminates the world from this campus! She is the very intensity of the summer, the grace of fall, the nobility of winter and the kindness of spring. She's a girl who excels in academics and sports, the dream of every person in the school. Do you know that the amount of love letters that she received a day is more than you can read in a week? Everybody wants to marry her."

Mako-chan paused to take a breath and continued, "But she's tough. Just in this week, she turned down lots of people and that included son of a famous billionaire, an Interhigh representative, son of a C.E.O. and six others who are just as rich or famous. What made you _think_ that such a lady, who makes a simple man a hero just by confessing to her, not _that_ big a deal?"

"I'm sorry," she said apologetically.

"Well. But if there were someone who barely deserved Miya-sama, it would be _him_." She slowly walked to the window, which was to Himeko's left-hand side and looked over the enormous sport field and pointed down. Himeko knew whom she meant anyway, even without looking. At this time of the week, there was only one class who used the field and among those forty-five students, only one could be Mako-chan's target. One boy, a pretty but manly one with dark hair and eyes was pressing his opponent really hard on the tennis court. His opponent wasn't doing well, however. But she wouldn't blame him. No boys on campus could score one point against the other boy, regardless of age or sport they were playing.

"The national top-ranker, one who is blessed with the grace of Ototachibana Academy, young master of Shingetsu Grand Shrine, Jin-sama, Oogami Souma. Believe it or not, most boys in here see him as their most powerful enemy. Perhaps they know that if he decides to join the race, there's no way they can compete."

She said nothing, still thinking about what Mako-chan said. It was true. If it were Oogami-kun who proposed to the blue-haired princess, no one would dare say otherwise. _Oogami-kun, eh?_ she thought. Well, in time, when she had the chance, Himeko would tell Mako-chan all of the truth. And maybe about her greatest secret as well. Himeko wondered how her friend would react if she knew... She wouldn't kick Himeko out of the room... would she? Himeko hoped not.

The sessions went by with the speed of a turtle, or maybe it was because in her heart, Himeko was just waiting for them to end. When the break time came, she rushed out of the class with her lunchbox. In her mind, only one thing lingered: what the Himemiya princess, what her _Chikane-chan_ had told her in the morning _At noon, in the Garden of the Roses, as usual._ Good thing that Mako-chan never asked her why or where she always disappeared to in lunchtime or the secret would have come out ages ago.

In the west side of the campus, there was a secret garden, completely fenced and surrounded with roses so the scenery inside was safely concealed from the naked eye. Only Himeko and Chikane-chan knew that there was a secret entrance hidden within the rose bushes, one large enough for her to go through. And she did exactly that. Inside, there was a big ginkgo tree, four times as old as her and maybe over, which granted its cool shades upon the circular patch of ground covered by smooth grass. Beneath its branches Chikane-chan sat, idly sipping a cup of tea. Noticing Himeko, the blue-haired princess said with a gentle smile, "Welcome."

The truth was that unbeknownst to all students on campus, the blue-haired girl had been Himeko's friend since the very day her first class in this school started. Well, people had never been aware how close Himeko and Chikane-chan were to one another. How could they, when they rarely talked in the presence of a third person? Chikane-chan already apologized for it, saying that she did not feel comfortable being intimate with Himeko in public. She said that people would get jealous should they hear her saying Himeko's name with such a caress in her tone. The blue-haired princess was joking when she said that but Himeko knew perfectly well that the school wouldn't leave her be should they be informed of their... relationship.

She smiled. No matter how she put it, the way they sneaked around just so they could meet and have lunch together sounded too much like a secret affair.

As she and Chikane-chan finished up their lunchboxes, the latter gave Himeko a cup of tea. Murmuring a thank-you, she gave the other girl a surreptitious glance. The Himemiya princess was truly beautiful, absolutely radiant even under the cool shadow. She wondered why...

"Is something the matter, Himeko?"

Chikane-chan must have realized Himeko was staring at her. Peeling her eyes off the other girl's heavenly face, quite reluctantly she might add, she hid her own with the cup of tea and said, "You always have so many things to do at school, Chikane-chan. Like Student Council meetings, club activities, tea ceremony classes... Why are you always here, eating lunch with me? The Garden of the Roses is far too inconvenient for you."

Her friend simply smiled. "Because this is the only short while that I can spend with you, Himeko. You do not wish for my company?"

"No, it's not that." Himeko hastily shook her head.

"If I am a nuisance to you, there shall not be a next time." Regret and sadness tinged the princess's voice... and Himeko's heart sank into her stomach.

"No! I am really happy that you are here with me. Really, I mean it, Chikane-chan!"

The Himemiya heiress smiled again and softly patted Himeko's head. "Okay, I hear you."

Mako-chan told everybody that Himeko loved school so much she would never miss a class even when sick. That wasn't true. The reason why she would come to the Academy regardless of rain or shine was because she wanted to spend her lunchtime with the Himemiya princess. Being near Chikane-chan was a pleasure, a gift from the Gods. Her friend's presence soothed Himeko's soul, softened it and cleansed away whatever that had been bothering her, leaving only a sense of serenity and peace. Those daily twenty minutes had become so important, so precious to Himeko that she didn't even dare imagine what she would feel were she to sit here without the blue-haired princess one day.

"Here you go," Chikane-chan said, giving her an invitation slip.

"If it's for your birthday, then I got one already." _E__verybody_ in school did.

"That one is just a little show the Himemiya Clan put up in my name." The blue-haired princess shook her magnificent head, annoyance flashed across her face and disappeared as quickly as it had arrived. "This is my personal invitation for you."

"Why?" she said, puzzled.

"Because, silly Himeko," the blue-haired princess put the slip into her hand, smiling indulgently, "none but you and I are invited to this party."

"Only us?"

"Yes," the taller girl tapped her nose lightly and said, her sapphire eyes seemed to glow in excitement. "In my backyard I have prepared a secret spot for us, just like this Garden. We will spend our peaceful evening there when the rest of the guests drink and talk business elsewhere. But do not tell them that, ne, for they will not be pleased." The blue-haired princess gave her a meaningful smile.

"Wouldn't it be boring if you spent your birthday with just me?" Himeko said quietly. "I'm sure there are other people you'd like to be around."

"There is none," Chikane-chan said, her voice equally quiet, "You are the only one I can talk just about anything in the world. You are the only one by whose side I can stay myself and have a moment's peace. I have always more than enjoyed our time together, you know that."

"Me too, Chikane-chan," Himeko said, her hand tugging at the blue-haired princess's sleeve.

"Then good," the other girl grinned openly, her soft hand placed upon Himeko's cheek. Her face went hot. This... looked too much like a love scene, actually. Not that she would mind were it... one... though. She doubted any girl in this campus would... "Besides, it is your birthday, too, is it not?" Chikane-chan added, sounding cheerful all of a sudden.

"Yeah." Himeko smiled brightly.

A short while after becoming friends with the blue-haired girl, Himeko had learned an awesome secret. Her friend was born on the same day as her, and to make it almost unbelievable, on the very same hour. Chikane-chan was just as surprised, and overjoyed to hear it. As to why she was, she did not say. But come to think of it, everything made sense now. They were born into this world practically at the same moment. No wonder why Himeko felt so connected to the blue-haired princess of the Himemiya, no wonder why she...

* * *

Sitting in an empty classroom, Yui looked straight ahead at the floating image screen she made with her Vision Spell. The two girls looked happy, so much so it warmed her heart. From the moment they met one another in this school, she had been watching over them, praying every night that the foreordained tragedy would leave them be. Of course, if everything went according to plan, she wouldn't have to pray again soon. Yui looked closer at the two girl's hands. Occasionally, a gleam of red would appear and vanish so quickly and abruptly that unless someone was paying all of their attention like Yui was, they would never see it. She smiled. The very last gift Yui had given them three thousand years ago, it was still there. 

"You are too old to spy on people, dear," Yui said without turning her head. A shadowy figure was standing by the door to the room, eyes fixing on her back. Normally, she wouldn't mind but this person wasn't someone she'd want to ignore. A wave of her hand erased the Vision Spell.

"The pot calling a kettle black," a young girl's voice answered her flatly. "You are spying on them yourself."

"You know too well the difference... ah... How would you like me to address you? Your true name or the one you're using?"

"It matters not," the other girl said.

"Then, Rinne-chan. What business have you with me today?"

"Not with you," Rinne said. From the beginning of the conversation, her tone had not changed a hair. Well, she spoke like that with everybody she knew, except one person of course.

"Don't tell me you haven't given up on them, Rinne-chan." Yui sighed. "There are other ways to get what you want, you know."

"It is but the only way, the_ bastard_ sees to it."

"At least keep your animosity to yourself. He's the father of the one you love, isn't he?"

"_Is_ he?"

"Oh well, let's drop this. It could go on forever," Yui said. "Say, Rinne-chan, would you like to go have a cup of coffee? I know a good place around here."

"No, thank you. But why are you acting so friendly with me? I have plans for _them_, you already know."

"That makes two of us." Yui smiled.

"Not good enough," Rinne said. She could even feel the girl's piercing eyes on her back. Well, Rinne had somewhat changed into a cynical person, ever-suspecting people around her since what had happened to her three millennia ago. Such an answer did not satisfy her at the very least.

"Let's just say I admire you. Compared to you, I'm just a coward." Simple truth, and no more. Rinne should know what she was talking about. She was there when it all happened, she was the only one who knew Yui's little secret.

"I see."

"Rinne-chan, why don't you come out of the shadows and let me take a good look at you? It's been a while." Yui turned around.

The girl stepped forward. She was very lovely despite making herself appear younger than what she would normally. Who could have believed this girl, who looked like she might break with just a touch, had such courage and strength?

"You look so pretty in this uniform," Yui said, smiling, "the boys haven't troubled you, I hope?"

"I usually stayed out of their sight, so no," Rinne replied. "But I shall be going now. There are things I must attend to."

"See you later, Rinne-chan."

"You should be careful the way you look, too, the men will not leave you alone. Although they would be the one getting hurt afterwards, I suppose."

"Did I just hear a joke from you, Rinne-chan?" Yui said, amused.

"Maybe. Take care, Nee-sama. I hope you, too, will have your dream come true." She vanished after a bow with hand on her heart.

Nee-sama... How long had it been since she last heard that from Rinne? Yui thought the girl would never say that to her again, for sure, considering her situation. In the old times, Rinne always called her that with respect although they had no blood ties. The platinum-haired girl still thought well of Yui, it appeared.

But a dream came true? She must be kidding...

* * *

After all her classes were finished, Kurusugawa Himeko ran all the way to the bus station. To her disappointment, the bus had already left. She checked the time table and felt really crestfallen. When the next bus came, the store would have been closed down for the day. How was she supposed to pick up the present for Chikane-chan, then? She scratched her head in frustration. If only her History teacher had not droned on and on about the day the United States and Japan started international trading and a guy named Matthew Perry... Why would she want to know about him anyway? 

"What's wrong, Kurusugawa?"

Oogami-kun's sudden voice almost made her jump. Somehow, the boy managed to get right next to her without making the slightest noise. Indeed, he had the grace of a cat. Oogami Souma-kun was the ideal boy of every girl's dream, the target of envy for the rest. She met him sometimes in the past but for some reason, she never could understand why the girls went crazy wherever he came near them. Sure, he was... pretty, he was great at sports, he was a young gentleman, he was... perfect. Her heart sank a little.

The more Himeko thought about it, the more she felt puzzled, why did she not feel attracted to him in that sort of way? Was she weird if the only one she thought about days and nights was... She sighed. It was too late to ponder on the issue now. She had already admitted that she was a freak.

"Kurusugawa?" the young master of the local Shinto shrine said, looking at her quizzically. Himeko realized she had not answered him.

"I want to go downtown to buy something but the bus already left," Himeko said in exasperation, "I won't be in time if I wait for the next one"

"Follow me. You'll make it."

The boy led her to the parking lot, where he parked his motorbike. Thanks to it, they arrived at the store the Downtown Mahoroba in a flash. Himeko quickly picked out the thing she wanted to buy for Chikane-chan and give it to the cashier for gift-wrapping. She was relieved to see that the item was still there. During the last two months, she had had to come here every so often to make sure that it wasn't picked up by any one before she could gather enough money to buy it. When Oogami-kun took her back all the way to the Dormitory, she said, "Thank you, Oogami-kun, for today. I really wanted this." She couldn't help but smile while holding the little present closer to her heart. Finally...

"Don't mention it. Say, Kurusugawa, tomorrow is your birthday, isn't it?"

"Yes." Himeko was surprised. She didn't think any other girl except Chikane-chan and Mako-chan would know her birthday, let alone a boy like the young master of Shingetsu Grand Shrine. Should she ask him how he learned it, though?

"Can we... um... meet tomorrow, alone?" he said slowly. "There's something I want to talk to you about."

"Does it have to be tomorrow?"

"Yes," he replied quickly, perhaps sensing the hesitation and unease in her words. But why would the renowned Jin-sama of Ototachibana Academy want to meet her tomorrow of all days?

"Tomorrow is not good, I can't..." Before she could finish that, the bell rang. It was late in the evening already, if she dallied here any longer, the door to the Dormitory would be closed and she would be trapped here, having nowhere else to go.

"I'm sorry, Oogami-kun, I have to go. Thank you!"

"That's okay." She had already turned away so she didn't see his expression. He sounded _very_ disappointed, though. Himeko thought that she might know the reason. But it was preposterous thinking it that way. _Don't flatter yourself, Himeko,_ she thought.

* * *

"The dress is good but its color is a bit flashy. And the lace is just too big. It makes me look like a kid," Himemiya Chikane said as her loyal and devoted Head Maid of the Himemiya Family, Kisaragi Otoha finished putting on the red dress for her. 

"We still have a mermaid lineup. Do you want to try it on, Ojou-sama?"

"Yes."

"As you wish."

Otoha took the red dress off of her and put it back inside one of the oversized wardrobe, saying:

"But isn't this rare, Ojou-sama?"

"Rare, you say?"

"Usually, you accept whatever that I choose for you without a second thought. But this is the first time you wish to pick one on your own."

"Is that so?" Chikane answered absent-mindedly and walked to the French window of the room overlooking Himemiya's vast verdant foliage. In the sky, a full moon amidst a cloudless sky decorated by a thousand sparkling stars was casting its silvery light upon the earth. Her thoughts wandered.

Indeed, what Otoha said was right. She never paid much attention to the clothes her maid picked for her in her entire life. Yet, tomorrow was one really special day, a day different from any other. Tomorrow, someone important to Chikane would attend the celebration of her birth, someone she cherished and treasured with all she had. Just thinking of it set her heart on a rampage once more, which had happened more than once today already.

Tomorrow, Himeko would be here, right in this Mansion. And she would spend her time with Chikane, alone, undisturbed by the world. Before, only her parents' friends, VIPs from all over the country, and people from her school attended the party but she never had any intention of getting their acquaintance. The businessmen were only interested in how much money Himemiya Clan earned in a year while her _alleged_ schoolmates' real interest was trying to take her heart so that one day they could share her _glory_one day. They were all but the same, a disgustingly worthless lot.

But _she_ was not so, her innocent Himeko. What the golden-haired girl really wished for was spending time with Chikane, she knew it for a fact. In time, the little angel had gained a special place in Chikane's heart. Himeko, a name that warmed up her frozen soul, her beloved Himeko... Chikane was not joking when she said people might realize the caressing tone when she called the girl's name. It was the truth. _Anyone_ would have been aware of how much affection Chikane had for Himeko the moment they heard. She had no intention of letting them, however... not any time soon.

Somehow Chikane could not understand why people did not notice Himeko's true worth. Her friend was dazzling with her long golden hair and her adorable face. Yet no boys in school paid attention to Himeko as if she never existed. The little angel was a gem hidden in a pile of rocks. Well, Chikane would feel safer and more assured if Himeko was not picked up by any guy, in any event. She smiled quietly at that. She wondered whether she should tell the little angel how she felt toward her...

Anyway, Chikane had already had a present prepared for Himeko. Chikane had gone to the best jewelry shop in Downtown to pick out a very nice ruby band for the golden-haired girl. She had always believed the color red suited Himeko well. She wondered... which finger would Himeko put the band on when she received it? Hopefully...

* * *

Under the light of the electric lamp on her table, Kurusugawa Himeko silently opened her album, always hidden deep within a drawer that remained locked all the times. In here, all the memories she had made with Chikane-chan resided and forever kept safe. Inside were all the pictures Himeko had taken with the blue-haired princess. She looked back one more time. Mako-chan was fast asleep already. It was safe now. 

All the pictures, none contained a third face aside from her own and Chikane-chan's, were carefully protected by a layer of transparent plastic paper. Most of them were from the time when the blue-haired princess invited Himeko to her own private house in Hokkaido during summer vacation. They had a great time there. Inside the spacious house with two separate rooms, the two of them spent their days together, alone, undisturbed. There were no servants, no outsiders. They took turns to cook the food that was prepared beforehand. They took turns to clean the house and every other chore they could think of.

Well... taking turns they had agreed on but in the end, Himeko almost always had to lend a helping hand. Chikane-chan – the Himemiya Ojou-sama who was used to being served during her entire life – was by no means someone who knew her ways around the kitchen. Himeko felt sorry to say it but the princess was a catastrophe waiting to happen. Once, Chikane-chan had nearly set kitchen on fire trying to make some soup. Another time, the blue-haired princess had flooded the house with flour and water because her experiment with the cake ended in disaster. Himeko still couldn't figure out how she did it.

She never minded helping Chikane-chan to clean up, though. In fact, she had wished more than once that the taller girl would screw up somewhere so Himeko would have the excuse to do things together with her. The Himemiya princess had seemed so happy, so delighted even when they were breaking their backs scrubbing the floor that Himeko couldn't help but want to look at her forever. Himeko was willing to wager all the money in her bank account that no other person had ever seen the Himemiya heiress being so... _cute_. Her smile was sweet and genuinely unreserved, unlike the mere curving of lips she granted the boys and girls of Ototachibana every morning out of courtesy. Her sapphire eyes all but shone like a child who could not hide her excitement while opening the presents on her birthday. And it seemed Chikane-chan's bright mood had somehow seeped into Himeko, too. In that summer house, she had felt as happy as... as... someone spending the honeymoon with the one she loved...

She gave a start as heat bloomed on her face. _Now where did that come from?_ Hurriedly, she focused on the album once more, trying to stay away from such an... unladylike train of thought. As a result, her eyes found the prettiest picture of in the whole set, one she treasured as much as she did her own limbs.

It was a picture in which the blue-haired princess was embracing Himeko tightly from behind in the Garden of the Roses, the princess's arms were about Himeko's waist, the taller girl's face so close to hers that had Himeko turned toward the other girl a little more, their lips would have met. Himeko felt her heart picking up its pace, ready for a gallop. She closed the album with an audible snap, her breaths uneven, her cheeks aflame. As much as she loved the picture, she didn't dare look at it for too long. Well... were she to, she might just start imagining things... again. She wondered whether the blue-haired princess experienced the same emotion, though. Would she look at it every night? Would she smile when she did? Would she hold it closer to her heart? Would she think about the same thing as Himeko? _You wish. _She laughed softly in amusement. Yes... she wished...

Chikane-chan, her beautiful, kind and strong-willed companion, her wonderful Chikane-chan... Himeko was truly glad that she met the blue-haired girl and became friends with her. Her life would have been so different, and much duller, without the princess, Himeko was sure. After putting the album back into its hiding place, she picked up the present that she bought for the blue-haired girl. A smile faintly crossed her lips. It was a very adorable ring adorned by a sparkly sapphire stone in the shape of the crescent moon. Himeko had fallen in love with the thing the moment she laid eyes on it. It wasn't cheap, though. Himeko had had to work part time for a local restaurant for two months before she gathered enough money. She only hoped it would make her princess happy.

* * *

Oogami Souma, in his Ototachibana uniform, stood by the window of his room and watched the sun dawning in the eastern sky, trying his hardest not to yank the hair off his head. He was frustrated even from the night before, when Kurusugawa Himeko declined – quite hastily and unwaveringly! – his invitation. Today was her birthday... and he planned to confess but how the hell was he supposed to do that when he couldn't even see her? 

_The time has come,_ an awful voice whispered in his head and sent chills down his spine. _Long have we been denied freedom. Long have we been trapped in the flow of time. But now my blood flows strong in your veins once more. The time for revenge has finally come. Heed my call, Children of the Dark God, those who live in the shadows of Man, those who dwell in the sins of the World... awaken and walk the earth, awaken and rip apart the land! _

His mind went blank, his rational thoughts crushed by the void that was slowly consuming his heart. In the heavens, pitch darkness was reaching out in every direction, swallowing up the morning sun, devouring the cerulean blue like a hungry beast. And a dark orb appeared atop the sky, bestowing its ominous light upon the City of Mahoroba. Every time the thing pulsed, the air stirred, the earth trembled, and his body swayed in ecstasy and in a fit of anger hot enough to burn the world. And it felt good.

He walked calmly out of the room, his whole self bursting with power. Upon the hallways the Shingetsu Priests ran in panic, most likely trying to find Souma's brother so they could learn how to deal with the situation. _Good luck with that,_ Souma thought. The High Priest was by no means capable of reversing what the Lord had done. There were ones who could, of course, but they were not in the Grand Shrine at the moment... or so a little voice was whispering at the back of his head. It was telling him that he should pay those old people no heed and concentrate only on getting what he needed. Souma listened to the advice.

After Souma arrived at the front of the Grand Hall of Shingetsu Grand Shrine, empty and clean as ever, he walked in, and frowned. The Grand Hall was brimming with an air of sanctity. The influence of the Immortals of Heaven was so strong in here it rankled in his nose. It itched against every part of his skin and made him want to take a bath. He didn't think he had ever noticed it before. He dismissed the filthy sensation quickly, though, for the little voice was still urging, it growing more and more intense after every heartbeat. Distantly he thought that should this go on, it might just swallow him whole... but only distantly.

Obeying the voice, he went to the back of the Grand Hall and opened a trap door on the wall – which he would never have noticed without being told where it was. Beyond him lay a stairway beneath a corridor dimly lit by the electric lamps on either side, which seemed to be leading toward the center of the earth in an endless spiral. Exhilaration filled him like water did a tank that had no exhaust. He wanted to laugh at the impunity of the flickering light. Such weak illumination could not hold back the darkness that was so inviting, that was calling to him, beckoning his steps. He climbed down the stairway, throwing his head back to let out a laughter fierce enough to scare his former weakling self to death.

At the end of the stairway, he saw a chamber the rock walls of which enclosed a large rectangle space. In the heart of the chamber, a pillar of ice – which bore a blinding orb of golden light in its middle – stood surrounded by six other columns, each of a different color. Frowning, he stepped lightly around them and went to the other side, where he found a sword whose blade was driven halfway into the rock wall. His lips instinctively curved upward into a smile. _Finally,_ he thought.

He wrapped his hand around the sword's hilt, and the world exploded in purple flares. He laughed and laughed and laughed until tears rolled off his face. In his head, the voice was murmuring approval. The humans had better be prepared... for the Children of Orochi were going to walk the earth.

* * *

Kurusugawa Himeko had hoped the weather would be nice on the day or her and Chikane-chan's birthday... but it seemed the Gods didn't want to grant her wish. Strangely enough, when she started putting on clothes, the sky had been a deep, beautiful blue without a merest hint of cloud... yet when she was done tying the red ribbon on her hair, darkness was all that was left above the roofs of Mahoroba. Where the sun should be a dark orb of _something_ resided, pulsing every so often with its eerie light. 

"Is that an eclipse? There is no such thing on the news, is there?" Mako-chan said, sounding terribly afraid. The athlete's face was pale, and Himeko was sure hers did not fare any better. She felt cold...

All of a sudden, heat bloomed in the middle of Himeko's chest as if it was the gathering place of a thousand suns. Before she could cry out in pain, though, the heat vanished in an instant, leaving only a faint sense of what just happened there. Outside her room's window, a violet sphere of light appeared in the far side of the horizon in addition to the dark orb in the sky and from the look of it, that sphere was getting closer in her direction. To make the matter worse, lightning sprang from it and crashed down upon the earth. Wherever the lightning touched, dark and red flames flared up instantly to consume all the houses, all the people nearby. Her eyes stung and her heart ached. They were dying out there. What in goodness's name was happening?

Her friend Mako-chan the athlete was obviously frightened, her bloodless face white as a blank sheet of paper. But she acted quickly despite her fear. Mako-chan practically pulled Himeko out of the room, her voice cracked as she tried to talk:

"Run, Himeko. Come on!"

On the hallway, students were screaming and crying, forming a current that swarmed toward the exit. Himeko and Mako-chan joined them but before they could run for more than five minutes, it struck her that she had forgotten to take along the present she wanted to give Chikane-chan and left it lying on her table. She knew her life was important, she knew what was lost could be gained once more but... but today was her first birthday party that she could spend with the blue-haired princess. Her sole wish at the moment was to give Chikane-chan that and maybe see her friend smile and tell Himeko that she liked it.

That thought got rid of the hesitation. Himeko yanked her hand out of that of the track-and-field athlete and ran back to their room. She pretended that she did not hear her friend screaming her name and begging her to come back and ran as hard as she could. It was hard fighting against the current of people rushing in her way but somehow, she managed to make it back to the room without being trampled on.

Himeko heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing the gift-wrapped box of present on her table. She took it into her hand, wondering what she might have done had it been lost. She'd break down and cry, most likely. Funny how she could think about the well-being of this present instead of her own when the students were running for their lives... Perhaps it showed how important a smile from the Himemiya princess was to Himeko... _Chikane-chan, I only wish you'd know how I feel about you,_ she thought.

"There you are, Priestess of Kannazuki," said a voice colder than ice and sharp enough to cut from behind Himeko.

Slowly turning around, she found something... not quite what she would expect from a human. At the door to her room stood a man – the deep quality of the voice assured her it was a man – who looked as though he were made entirely out of purple lightning. In his hand was a shaft of light shaped like the blade of a sword. On his face was a pair of eyes which were blazing with a crimson light so bright they made the rest of him seem dark. Around him the air was hissing as though his body was a boiling kettle. At his feet, black smoke was rising as though the carpeted floor beneath his shoes were being consumed by a flame.

Himeko took a step backward, her back pressing against the glass window of her room. She trembled, cold sweat drenching her face and making her uniform cling to her back. The man unnerved her. Instinctively her hands tightened around the little present box.

"You shall not live to trouble us, Priestess of the Sun," the man said, his sword rising over head, "you may rest in peace now." The lightning that had been obscuring his body up to now shifted upward and gathered into a large sphere centered on a dual-bladed sword shiny as any mirror. Oogami Souma's handsome feature was the last thing she saw before the purple light hit her and shattered her consciousness.

* * *

Getting off the limousine, Himemiya Chikane ran all the way to the Dormitory of the Academy, wishing with all her heart that Himeko was safe and sound. When she saw the black orb in the sky, she had had a feeling that something bad would happen to the golden-haired girl. The feeling was so urgent, so intense that she abandoned all she was doing and ordered her chauffer to take her to the campus at top speed. She even threatened to fire him should he dare slow down. She had not cared whether the man would run over someone. Neither did she now. There was no human whose well-being was as important as the little angel's, and it would never change... forever and ever. _Himeko, please be okay, _the thought revolved endlessly in her head. 

When Chikane arrived at the door to the Dormitory, a crashing sound from somewhere above caught her attention and made her look up. She was glad she did. A blazing beam of purple light was hurling something out of one of the windows. That something... was her little angel! Chikane's mind went blank, her whole self rigid with horror. She screamed, _"Himeko, no!"_

Against gravity, Himeko did not fall down as fast and anything would. The golden-haired girl was almost like floating, her body wreathed in a golden sphere of light. Slowly, that sphere descended leisurely until the angel it carried inside was directly above Chikane's head. Then it vanished and dropped Himeko into Chikane's arms.

A careful study of her beloved friend told Chikane that she was perfectly well, for her breathing was even, for there was not a single bruise on her smooth and unblemished skin, not even a tear on her red and white clothes. Wrecked with relief, Chikane collapsed onto the ground, still holding the other girl in her arms as tightly as she could. That light, it had kept her Himeko safe. Chikane did not know if she should laugh or cry. She was truly glad that Himeko was okay but knowing that the golden-haired girl was in a near-death experience was a very bad thing to happen to her heart.

Tightening her arms around the golden-haired girl's warm, tender body, Chikane could not help but feel at ease. It was alright, even if this city burn in Hell's flame, even if the people fell down one by one around her, even if the world itself ended. As long as she could keep Himeko's out of harm's way, as long as she could protect her, Chikane was satisfied. Himeko... when would her precious little angel realize how much she...

"Acting all lovey-dovey, are you not, Priestesses?" a voice, colder than the heart of winter muttered over Chikane's head.

Looking up, Chikane gasped upon seeing that the one who just sounded as though he wanted to kill them was... Oogami Souma! The boy was standing not five feet from them, his face stony, and his crimson eyes digging at them with something Chikane would name madness. His right hand was gripping a sword the blade of which was full of characters she had never seen in her entire life. And the thing blazed brilliantly purple with the intensity of a lightning bolt. Then it struck her. Purple... He was the one who attacked Chikane's little angel!

"Oogami Souma..." Chikane said, her voice growing cold so quickly by the end it resembled the howling of a blizzard. She never liked the boy and his overblown pride but she never thought him evil. She was wrong. "How dare you hurt her?"

"If you think hurting her is all I will do," Oogami chuckled quietly, "you are a delusional fool. Because I will kill both of you right now!" He raised his sword high above his head and brought it down with a force probably strong enough to reduce Chikane and Himeko to dust. Holding the little angel closer, Chikane thought, _Is this the end? _

The sword's purple aura enveloped her.

* * *

High in a sky dominated by the Dark Sun of the Orochi Yue stood, looking down at what was happening in front of Ototachibana Dorm. The Orochi boy was trying to kill the children. Rage welled up in her like the strongest tide, celestial powers racing through every fiber of her existence. As if she would let a lowly human possessed by the madness of a _sword_ do that to her daughters! Yue raised her hand toward the heavens and unleashed her might. The boy would regret ever baring his puny sword. 

"Awaken, Priestesses of Kannazuki!" Yue said, "Awaken, children of the Sun and Moon!"

* * *

Just when Chikane thought that Oogami Souma's sword would kill them for certain, glorious aura, silver and golden, flared up from Chikane and Himeko's bodies and struck the boy head on. Bellowing in pain, he fell down on the ground and lay there unconscious, the shiny sword safely knocked out of his grip. She stared in open wonder as the golden and silver light blended into each other and dyed her vision with a field of red. 

An instant later, unbearable heat bloomed fiercely on her back as if she were carrying the midday sun. And like that was not bad enough, something stirred in her head while images streamed so quickly in her eyes that before she had time to register any one of them to her memory, another would have taken its place just to be swallowed up by the next. Then it was over. After a heartbeat that seemed to last a decade, the heat faded, the images gone, and the light receded to reveal once more the scenery of Mahoroba's destruction. Out there, red flames were still consuming houses and people along with their dreams, their hopes.

Himeko stirred in Chikane's arms. Rational thoughts took flight immediately along with the memory of whatever had happened to her just a moment ago. The sight of the little angel, the warmth of her tender body, and the fragrant scent of shampoo on her hair overwhelmed Chikane's senses. She held the girl closer. Her beloved Himeko... what could this cute little girl have done to Oogami Souma that the boy insisted on killing her? But no matter, really. As long as Chikane was here, she would protect Himeko even if the whole world wanted to see her dead.

Himeko stirred again, her arms – originally at her sides – now sought out Chikane's waist and wrapped around it. Blood suffused Chikane's cheeks as Himeko buried her face in her bosom, her arms tightening as though she thought Chikane were a pillow. Chuckling, she brushed the girl's golden hair gently... and hugged her back with perhaps more intimacy than she would like to be seen with another _girl_ in public. Should her parents lay eyes on her right now, they might think that she was holding her _lover_...

Forcing the strange thought from her head, Chikane turned her attention back to the girl in her arms. Somehow, the coma had changed to a peaceful slumber for the little angel. Chikane should find her some place to rest on... away from this dangerous place. Glancing at the unconscious shape lying on the ground that was Oogami Souma, Chikane frowned in disgust. A boy with a sword trying to kill a helpless girl... trying to kill Himeko... _Filthy one, _she thought.

As Chikane tried to stand up and carry Himeko with her, she noticed a shiny little box on the ground, not faraway from where she was. Chikane stared. It was a little present, gift-wrapped carefully and attached with a little note that read _Happy birthday, Chikane-chan._ Settling back on her knees, she picked it up with one hand while still holding Himeko tightly with the other.

Come to think of it... when Himeko first fell into her embrace, the girl was clutching something tightly in her hands as though trying to protect it. Perhaps she had let go of it when she hugged Chikane. It suddenly struck her. If the other students were evacuating, what was Himeko doing in her own room, holding this present?

"Chikane-chan..." the little angel spoke softly, her eyes still closed. It was the sleep talking.

When they spent their summer vacation in Hokkaido, Chikane had learned that Himeko sometimes talked in her sleep, a habit perhaps the girl herself never knew of. One evening, while they were watching Himeko's favorite TV program, the girl had fallen as sleep right on the couch, apparently exhausted from helping Chikane clean up the mess she had turned the kitchen into earlier in the day. Chikane had laid Himeko's head on her own lap then and turned off the TV lest it wake the little angel. The rest of her evening, almost until midnight she believed, had been spent gazing at the golden-haired girl's sleeping face and thinking to herself how someone could look so adorable. What she never expected was Himeko's mumbling things aloud.

In her dream, Himeko had spoken of a great many thing, most centering on the memories of her deceased parents whom she loved and the horrible period of time she lived with her relatives toward whom she harbored apprehension, and fear. Unlike Chikane – whose parents were still alive and well, who had never found herself lacking the love of her Father and Mother – Himeko lost hers to a disease when she was but a little kid. Her uncle and aunt had never tried to love her, for they perceived her as a burden that would sooner or later break their backs. They did mean things to her and more often than not, made her wish she had died along with her parents. Chikane had shed her first tears hearing that.

It was indeed a fortunate thing that her devil of an uncle and aunt sent her away from Tokyo so she could attend high school in Mahoroba, for it was only here did Destiny decide it would stop giving her a hard time. Himeko had sounded so happy talking about how she could live a normal life again that Chikane could not help but smile in relief. The little angel spoke of her roommate, Saotome Makoto, whom she called Mako-chan in such an affectionate way Chikane almost grew jealous, and how they became best friends. Quite untimely, she woke up when she started mentioning Chikane herself so she had no clue as to how Himeko thought of her. The golden-haired girl had blushed like the setting sun waking up on Chikane's lap, with Chikane watching her and smiling, though.

Chikane's right hand started to caress the little angel's face, her lips curving up in a little smile. _Chikane-chan... _she had said. Himeko was dreaming of Chikane, it appeared. She wondered what she was doing in the girl's dream...

"I thought... I'd lost the present..." Himeko murmured drowsily, "but I was glad... it was still there when I went back... I didn't know what I'd do... if I couldn't give it to you on time... But happy birthday, ne... Chikane-chan..."

The smile slid off Chikane's face. So this little box was the very reason Himeko returned to her room despite the evacuation and almost faced death. Her eyes stung.

"Silly Himeko..." Chikane said quietly, hand brushing a few stray locks of hair off the little angel's face, "do you not know your very presence is the greatest gift one can give me on my birthday? Do you not know my heart would have died had something happened to you?"

"Perhaps you will never realize it, but..." Chikane whispered, her face drawing closer to that of the little angel, _"I love you, Himeko."_

* * *

Perching on top of an old ginkgo tree that was far enough not to be spotted, Miyako watched as the boy was blasted away by the mysterious light coming from the Priestesses. So much for the Seventh Head of the mighty Orochi, so useless... Although Miyako had to admit that the guy was not weak, the sense of powers emitted from within him was strong enough for her to know that he came very close to Tsubasa-sama in sheer strength. Still, he went down so easily. Hardly unexpected though, the guy was nurtured in a lukewarm environment, brought up with care and love. When you did not have to fight for survival everyday, you would become soft no matter how much power you possessed. Tsubasa-sama would be very, very disappointed when he had to see an Orochi Head so. 

Well, since he never finished his job, she had to do it for him. With it, Tsubasa-sama would praise her for her hard work and maybe give her some reward as well. Just thinking about it made her nearly delirious with joy. She worshipped the powerful and Tsubasa-sama was the strongest of all.

Drawing out the flow of energy from the Dark Sun in the sky until herself was brimming with powers, Miyako focused them into her hands to make a purple flame that should be as hot as any man could kindle. Then she unleashed it, sending a huge pillar of flame toward the Priestesses. '_Ashes to ashes, dust to dust!_ she mused to herself. A deafening sound echoed in the air, telling her that her attack had hit the target. Winds hurried in every direction, as was the black smoke. Miyako laughed in satisfaction. If there were any corpses left, she would be very surprised.

After a while, the smoke dissipated into the air. To Miyako's horror, the two Priestesses were still there, unharmed and untouched. The blue-haired one was still holding the other in her arms, seemingly oblivious to what was happening nearby. In front of them, the Seventh Head of the Orochi stood, sword in hand. It was _him_ who shielded the girls from her Unholy Fire. It was _him_ who had obstructed her! Infuriated, Miyako sent a telepathic message directly into the brain of Seventh Head, _"I am the Second Head of Orochi. Out of my way, Seventh Head!"_

"I... I am no Orochi Head," the reply message came rushing back. The guy was very angry right now, Miyako could tell. "I'm Oogami Souma!"

In the blink of an eye, Oogami traversed space and appeared right in front of Miyako, bringing down his sword. Hastily, Miyako leapt upward and stationed herself in the air just as the light extending from the sword sliced the ginkgo tree into two as easily as a scissor did a sheet of paper. The terrible thing was that _after_ it had been sliced, the tree burned to ashes in a second. Miyako grimaced. The Lightning Blade was truly dangerous, much more so now that it lay in the hand of a traitor. She had to take it back. That wouldn't be too difficult, she believed. After all, Oogami should have at least been wounded by the Priestesses. Maybe he would be weak enough to kill despite Raien in his possession. Maybe...

Weaving one flame that resembled a thin ribbon with one hand, Miyako whipped it at Oogami with all her physical prowess. To her satisfaction, the flame fastened around the blade. First, it would heat up the thing and force the bastard to let go. Then she could retrieve it and take his life with his very own weapon!

It did not go well as she planned, though, Oogami showed no sign of feeling the heat. He simply suspended in mid air and growled, "It was _you_ who made me attack Himeko, wasn't it?"

It wasn't. But there was no point in telling him it was the demon inside him who did. Miyako tried a bit harder to pull the sword to her. Then she realized that no matter how much strength she poured into doing it, the sword never budged an inch.

She made another flame ribbon with her other hand and aimed for the traitor's head. She stared in plain disbelief, however, when Oogami caught it with his bare hand as if it were but a piece of cloth.

"You want Himeko?" the infuriating boy shouted, "I will never give her to you! Die, Orochi!"

Raien blazed and evaporated _both_ of her flames.

Oogami swung the Lightning Blade in a broad arc as he roared, _"Death of a thousand stars!"_

Thousands of thousands of light beams of purple light as thick as the trees around Miyako blocked every escape route she could find. She screamed, _"Save me, Tsubasa-sama!" _

Purple shades annihilated the world.

* * *

Himeko half-wanted to open her eyes and half-wanted to close them. Her whole body felt tired and hurt as if every bone in her had been broken to pieces. Little strength was left in her body and absolutely no memories in her mind. She couldn't remember what happened. Where was she? She tried to open her eyes further... and realized she was cradled in Chikane-chan's tender arms. Blood rushed to her face. Being embraced from behind by the blue-haired princess was one thing but this... And why was the princess's face drawing nearer to hers? 

_"I love you, Himeko." _

Her eyes crept wider and wider as her friend's soft lips claimed her own. Chikane-chan was kissing her... Reality faded fast in Himeko's eyes, everything became blurry like a screen of fog. Still, she could hear her heart beating fast. Warmth and strength overwhelmed Himeko through the taller girl's honey lips. Himeko had always known that Chikane-chan alone was special, irreplaceable and the most important person in her life. She had always known that she was willing to pay any price just to be with the Himemiya Ojou-sama, just to spend time with her everyday, just to be able to look at her gentle face every morning. Himeko had always known that to her, the blue-haired princess had never been _just_ a best friend...

Recently, all that Himeko dreamed of was the princess. This very morning, in her dream, Chikane-chan had said that she loved Himeko more than anyone in the whole wide world. Although it was just a dream, Himeko had remembered every little detail. And the answer Himeko had meant to give was... Slowly, sleep took her once more, but not before one last thought crossed her mind. _I love you too, Chikane-chan. _


	3. Priestesses of the Godless Month

_**EPISODE TWO: PRIESTESSES OF THE GODLESS MONTH.**_

* * *

"Why have you not waken, Himeko?" Himemiya Chikane murmured softly. "It has been one day already. Why are you sleeping still?" 

In the waning light of the late noon sun, shooting its rays through the shoji doors and painting every thing within the large traditional tatami room with a sickly orange color, Himeko, breathing soundly with her eyes closed beneath a thick blanket and atop a large futon, gave no evidence she heard. Chikane sighed. She had summoned Katou-sensei, the Himemiya's family doctor, to ensure everything was well with the little angel but the woman, too, had no clue as to why the girl had been dozing off for such a long period of time.

In any case, Chikane did not worry too much about Himeko's condition. The little angel was merely immersed in a dreamless slumber, since she had not muttered a word during the twenty-four hours Chikane had spent watching over her, which was a good thing. The girl needed a good rest after all the nerve-wrecking events that had happened the day before. Chikane sighed again. So much for the private birthday party she had been looking forward to spending with Himeko. So much for the confession she had been planning to make under the flickering candlelight of their romantic meal, so much for the hope of receiving her first kiss...

Flame raged on Chikane's cheeks. Well, she _did_ confess to Himeko in the heat of the moment yesterday... and she _did_ give Himeko her very first kiss shortly afterwards. The only problem was that the little angel had been out cold the whole time.

Before Chikane knew what she was doing, her fingers were already tracing the outline of her lips. A full day had already passed, yet what she had felt still lingered and refused to fade. The lips of the little angel were soft and smooth as silk, blessed with a sweetness honey failed to match. Much had Chikane wondered what it would be like to claim the lips of the one she loved, she never expected the current of lightning that ran through her body at the contact and made her wish the moment would last forever. And that was but a one-sided kiss, stolen from a girl who was still unconscious from the power blast Oogami Souma had directed her way. Had Himeko been _awake_... had she been _aware_...

_She would have slapped me,_ Chikane thought, her heart sinking faster than a rock in water. Shame and guilt, hot as molten lava, welled in her so rapidly she thought they would reduce her to ashes. What had happened to year after year of careful upbringing under the roof of the Himemiya family, wealthiest and most respectable Clan of the nation? What had happened to the girl who had been in absolute control of her emotions, however tumultuously they always acted whenever she set eyes upon the golden-haired angel? How dared she steal something only Himeko had the right to give?

Chikane did not know. It had seemed so right, so natural to do such a thing at that time that she never spared herself a second thought before proceeding to kiss Himeko.

Chikane touched her lips again. Guilt and shame heavier than a mountain, sharper than a butcher's knife... yet there was no regret. Somewhere in her heart, she was actually _overjoyed_ that her first kiss had been given to the one she loved, the one by whose side she wished to spend eternity. Perhaps... that was what it meant to be in love.

Chikane took a lock of Himeko's golden hair into her hand and started to brush it in silence. _It is not fair, Himeko, _she thought. _How is it that you fascinate me so? When you look at me, I can barely keep my heart from rising into my throat. When you touch me, I have to try my best not to pull you into my arms and hug you and kiss you. When you are not around, it is all I can do to not run to your apartment just so I can see you when you answer the knock on your door. It is not fair, Himeko, you coming into my life and turning it upside down without even trying._

Letting go of the lock of hair, Chikane sighed. Of all the people in Mahoroba, of all the students in Ototachibana Academy, she just had to fall in love with another girl. The sigh deepened. A girl who she was not sure would love her back. Of course, Himeko really seemed to like Chikane the way she acted around her but whether the girl harbored any romantic feelings toward her was a different story. For all Chikane knew, Himeko might very well have a panic attack and start to avoid her upon learning what dwelled in Chikane's heart. But then, the little angel never showed any sign that she would object to being Chikane's girlfriend anyway... so why should she not take a chance?

Chikane's hand moved to caress the other girl's cheek as her thoughts started to wander. _What chance do _you_ think I have, dear my precious angel? Would you reject me, or make me a part of your life the way I want to be a part of yours? Would you spurn my feelings, or return them and fulfill my one and only wish? What answer would _you_ give, Himeko? _

"Chikane-chan?" the sweet voice of the little angel said quietly.

Eyes opened wide in shock, Chikane found her own face an inch above Himeko's. Somehow, she had leaned over without even noticing it. And it seemed... she was attempting to kiss the golden-haired girl... again. Every molecule in her body rang in alarm. Himeko's amethyst eyes, so shiny they would dwarf the brightest diamond, were fixing at Chikane with a confused and flustered look. The girl's cheeks were coloring, making her look prettier and cuter than ever. Chikane steeled herself. She would not give in to the temptation... she would not kiss her by force!

"I see you are well." Chikane managed a brief smile on her lips as she slowly drew her body back, attempting to hide the horror she was feeling within. The way her voice maintained its coolness and certainty, she seemed to have succeeded. "You have run a high fever the night before, so I was..." Chikane swallowed a little, "checking your temperature... with my forehead."

A complete lie, but it was necessary.

"Ah..." Himeko said, pushing back the blanket as she, too, sat up straight on the futon. Chikane blinked. For a second there, she thought she glimpsed disappointment flashing across Himeko's lovely face. Her heart started to pound. What other answer had Himeko expected? What would she have said if Chikane had told her the truth, if Chikane had revealed that she was trying to kiss her? She glanced at the little angel, whose expression now showed nothing but surprise as she looked around and realized that she had woken up in a strange place.

The golden-haired girl's face paled a little. Unfamiliar territory always scared her, of course. That raised an interesting point. Himeko never showed the merest hint of nervousness when she stayed with Chikane in the summer vacation house in Hokkaido. Why, she acted as though she had grown up there the way she flitted around the house and did whatever she needed to. Chikane filed the scrap of information away. It might mean something... or it might not.

Chikane gave herself a mental shake. She saw disappointment only because she _wanted_ to. It had to be a figment of her imagination. Chikane almost sighed out loud. Another side effect of being helplessly in love.

"Where are we, Chikane-chan?" Himeko asked, unease shining in her beautiful eyes.

Chikane gave the little angel an assuring smile, which the girl returned in the most adorable way ever. Chikane's breath caught. Sometimes, she really wished Himeko would stop looking so cute. Did she not know how dangerous it was to do so around someone who loved her so much she could barely stop herself from going wild?

"_Shingetsu Daijin-guu_, Himeko," Chikane said, wincing slightly at the butterflies trouncing her stomach.

_The Grand Shrine of the Sacred Moon_ was the name of Mahoroba's spiritual stronghold. The three thousand-years-old structure – largest of all the Shrines around the country, housing hundreds of Priests in its numerous apartments – sat on the highest hill of the City and, as some would put in a reverent way, watched over its citizens with the eyes of the Gods. Even from the time its construction was finished, Shingetsu had always been the place where the people aspired to and sought assistance. When calamity struck Mahoroba, it was the Grand Shrine who extended its helping hand and delivered people out of hardships. For that, the City itself was eternally grateful. Or so the history textbooks mentioned.

"Ah, Oogami-sensei's house, ne?" the little angel pounded a fist into her other hand, lips making a perfect O, showing her sparkling, evenly arranged white teeth. If Chikane recalled correctly, Himeko brushed them after waking up, before going to sleep, and between every meal during their stay in Hokkaido. The girl would do any dentist proud.

"Yes." Chikane nodded.

_Oogami-sensei_ was what the people respectfully called the High Priest Oogami Kazuki, the Forty-sixth Leader of the ancient Oogami Clan, Master of Shingetsu, and elder brother to Oogami Souma. The man was loved by most of those who lived in the City, for he was kind, his personality warm, and his smile so comforting people could not help but relax in his presence. Furthermore, the middle-aged High Priest had always been the first to leave the Grand Shrine when trouble stirred Mahoroba. A few years back, when a terrible winter plagued the City, Oogami Kazuki himself had labored miles after miles to give out warm clothes and food to the poor and the homeless. Afterwards, he became so stricken with pneumonia that everyone worried he would pass away. Of course, such dedication moved people's heart.

Chikane could still remember the day she and her parents, the famous and powerful Himemiya Kyou and Himemiya Kimika, knelt beside Oogami Kazuki's sick bed and wished him well. They had caused an uproar then. After all, the C.E.O. and C.F.O. of Himemiya International, who spent most of their time oversea meeting with the world's most important leaders, had taken a flight home just so they could visit a man who held no political or business power. Every newspaper in town had displayed the picture of her Father shaking the High Priest's hand on the front page and spoken of it for days. Well, they never knew that her Mother and the sick man were childhood friends, of course.

"But then, why am I in the Grand Shrine?" Himeko asked.

"The High Priest _demanded _that," Chikane said wryly, "so there you have it."

Chikane did not mention that the _order_ of the man – who had stridden into the school ground with a demeanor arrogant enough for any king – was not what she agreed with. She had said _clearly_ to his _face_ that she did not _want_ to entrust Himeko to a bunch of _old men _who never had a clue how to care for a _growing_ _girl_ properly. She had also told Oogami Kazuki _firmly_ she would not put Himeko in the same place as his younger brother – who, as she had kindly reminded the High Priest – bore the markings of a cold-blooded murderer

Chikane had faced him with the dignity of the future Heiress of the Himemiya Empire, and found herself stared down at with the icy authority of a man who refused to take _No_ for an answer. Strong as her willpower was, she still lost for she was outnumbered by the coterie of underlings, namely the Shingetsu Priests he brought along. Ironically enough, when Oogami Kazuki _suggested_ to Chikane that he would take Himeko to Shingetsu by force if need be, he had looked _nothing_ like the kind-faced High Priest who handed out warm clothes with a smile on the streets of Mahoroba. She suspected that the man had at least two personalities, though.

"Does he want to make me a Priestess or something?" Himeko laughed softly.

"I do not know," Chikane smiled at the joke, "but I suspect he will tell you soon enough. After all... he told me he wished to speak with you as soon as you wake," Chikane grimaced. Rousing a tired girl out of her bed just because he wanted to talk? Maybe she would need to have a nice long chat with him about his _treatment_ toward Himeko soon.

"Then let's go," Himeko beamed at her, attempting to rise from the futon but halted at a raised hand from Chikane.

"You should change first, Himeko," Chikane gestured toward the red and white Ototachibana uniform – carefully washed, thoroughly laundered, and neatly folded – next to the futon of the little angel. "But do take your time, we are not in a hurry," she added. She did not mind having the High Priest wait for another twenty-four hours, actually. He deserved it.

"Uniform?" the little angel said slowly as her gaze dawned upon the white yukata she was wearing. Horror crept across her face. "Someone... changed my clothes. The Priests?"

"No," Chikane took a deep breath, "_I_ did." There, the truth was out.

The golden-haired was stunned. Blood rose in her cheeks, flushing it with the deepest crimson Chikane had ever seen.

_Skin white as the falling snow, beautiful and untainted. Legs so slender and long they could have belonged to a supermodel. Hips slim enough to make most girls green with envy. And her chest, rising and falling in such a captivating way that she... _Horrified, Chikane hastily cleared her mind of the images and locked them into the deepest corner of her heart. She bit her lip in embarrassment. She did not mean to do it so she could look at the other girl naked. She did not have a choice when the High Priest gave her the yukata and told her to change the angel's clothes. She only did what she had to, that was all.

Then again, Chikane could not deny the fact that she had enjoyed seeing what lay beneath the fabrics of the Ototachibana uniform... She frowned. How vulgar and dirty she had become. No bath, however long, could cleanse this kind of filth.

"But..." Himeko muttered under her breath after a moment of awkward silence, "that's..." Quietly, she drew the blanket up until it covered up to her shoulders and began to study the floor vigorously as though expecting to find words of wisdom inscribed on the tatami mats.

_That's what? _Chikane thought.

Chikane blinked as she heard the sounds of feet falling softly upon the wooden hallway outside the room. In no time at all, a shadow loomed threateningly upon the paper doors.

"Pardon, Himemiya-san," a male voice, cold and devoid of any emotion, spoke. "Oogami-sensei wishes to speak to Kurusugawa-san." _Whether she is awake or not, right? How considerate of you,_ Chikane thought irritably.

"We shall be there in a moment, Yukihito-san," Chikane replied, the icy quality of her every word giving no false impression that she was _not_ happy. Why did the High Priest insist on disturbing Himeko's rest anyway? Waiting for another day would not kill the man, would it?

"Then we _shall_ await your arrival at the Grand Hall, Himemiya-san," Yukihito said and left. Chikane frowned. Apparently, every person in this Shrine thought that they could give _her_ orders and expected _her_ to obey. They would learn how _"obedient"_ she was soon enough...

"Yukihito-san?" the little angel quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Personal assistant to the sensei, Himeko," Chikane explained. "Although what kind of work he does, I have no idea."

"I see," the golden-haired girl mumbled, face going red when her eyes met Chikane's. "I need to change, Chikane-chan," she said sheepishly after a while, her voice so low she could barely be heard.

"Ah," Chikane blinked as she rose to her feet, "my apologies."

"It's okay."

"As I said, Himeko," Chikane slid the shoji door open, "take your time."

"Sure."

The door drew shut behind her... and Chikane found herself staring at the sun traveling toward the faraway horizon and wondering what Himeko would do after she found her present box in one of her coat pockets.

* * *

Fiddling with her forefingers while sitting on the futon, Kurusugawa Himeko tried to calm her heart. Chikane-chan... had changed her clothes. Panic welled in her, embarrassment warmed her face to the point she felt like a kettle boiling atop a stove. _She saw everything!_ a voice screamed at the back of her head. Well, her small clothes were still there but such a little comfort did not change the fact that she had unknowingly lain almost naked in front of the blue-haired princess. Himeko shivered. How was she supposed to live with this if she was going to blush like the setting sun every time she saw the Himemiya Ojou-sama? Admittedly, Chikane-chan was also a girl... but... but she alone was _special_, she alone was _different!_ Compared to having her clothes changed by another man, being seen in such an embarrassing state by Chikane-chan was... 

"Even _worse_," she muttered.

Of course it was so, for now she had no idea what had run through Chikane-chan's mind when she was... doing the undressing. Did the blue-haired princess just go on as though Himeko were just a lifeless mannequin? Did she finish donning the yukata on Himeko's body without a stray or impure thought? Did she feel nothing from touching Himeko's bare skin at all? She sighed. The way Chikane-chan cloaked herself with such impeccable serenity when she professed that oh-so-casual-but-devastating _I did_... the answer to all those questions was most likely _yes_

Himeko sighed again. She would have been much happier had Chikane blushed and had the other girl just looked away in embarrassment. At least, that would tell Himeko that she had managed to excite the princess even a little, that at least winning her over was not just a wishful dream.

Himeko's hand brushed across her lips. Speaking of dreams...

_Himeko half-wanted to open her eyes and half-wanted to close them. Her whole body felt so tired and it hurt as if every bone in her had been broken to pieces. Little strength was left in her body and absolutely no memories in her mind. She couldn't remember what happened. Where was she? She tried to open her eyes further... and realized she was cradled in Chikane-chan's tender arms. Blood rushed to her face. Being embraced from behind by the blue-haired princess was one thing but this... And why was Chikane-chan's face drawing nearer to hers? _

_"I love you, Himeko." _

_Her eyes crept wider and wider as her friends soft lips claimed her own. _

_Was it real?_ she thought wonderingly.

It couldn't have been. There was absolutely no reason as to why Chikane-chan would do something like that. After all, the other girl was not a... weirdo like Himeko, who had been looking at the blue-haired princess the way any girl would a pretty boy, who had fallen hopelessly in love with the Himemiya Ojou-sama the very moment they met.

Still, a dream it might be, it was still frighteningly realistic. Himeko could still see the princess's gentle sapphire gaze, unmistakably brimming with love. She could still taste the princess's lips, sweeter than any amount of sugar. She could still recall the tingling sense rippling through every fiber of her existence from the tender hand the princess had placed on her cheek. Himeko sighed again. If only it _were_ real.

Dropping the blanket, Himeko slipped off the white yukata and reached for her Ototachibana uniform. She stopped dead, however, when her eyes fell upon the small birthmark between her chest. Before, it was barely larger than the tip of her little finger... but now... it was the size of a fist. Even more strangely, the mark used to be just a patch of red skin, not something that looked like a symbol of the sun. What on Earth was happening to her?

* * *

"They shall be here any minute, sensei," he reported to the High Priest, who was sitting opposite him in the spacious Grand Hall of Shingetsu. 

"Very well," Oogami Kazuki nodded, "you have my thanks, Yukihito-kun."

"If there is no other errand you wish me to carry out, I will retire to my room, sensei," Yukihito said.

"In fact, I would like you to stay here and listen to what I have to say to them, Yukihito-kun."

"Why, sensei?" Yukihito blinked. Ever since he arrived at the Grand Shrine and became an assistant to the High Priest, who needed a helper to take care of his reports to the Council of Priests in Tokyo, the man had been quite close-mouthed when it came to _this kind_ of matter. Why did he change now?

"For you need to know what is going on in the world," Oogami sighed, "and what kind of dangerous situation _we_ are all in. You may want to leave my service after this."

"I am sure I will not," Yukihito answered firmly, "you have been a good employer, and you treat me well. Unless you decide you do not want me around, I will not leave." Of course, all of that was true, but the _real_ reason why Yukihito insisted on remaining in Shingetsu Grand Shrine was an entirely different matter.

"I am moved, Yukihito-kun." A small smile touched the High Priest's lips and lit his face with delight. "But you will consider it again after this little talk to the girls, won't you?"

"As you wish, sensei," Yukihito slightly inclined his head.

"Well, well," Oogami Kazuki chuckled as he heard a gentle knock on the doors of the Grand Hall. "They are here. Now, sit here, Yukihito-kun. That spot is reserved for them." The man gestured toward his right-hand side.

Rising and then settling next to the High Priest a second later, Yukihito decided to observe the two girls carefully. Although it would mean hearing what he had _already_ known too well from Oogami Kazuki, it still provided Yukihito a chance to learn whether he was right or wrong in the very start...

* * *

"We have come as you wished, Oogami-san," Kurusugawa Himeko's princess began as soon as she and Himeko sat down on the wooden floor of the Shingetsu Grand Hall, "you may talk." 

She blinked. The blue-haired girl appeared cool, calm, and collected but her voice had taken on an edge sharp enough to kill. Worse, her eyes, gleaming in the light of the candles lit around the spacious chamber, made no attempt to hide her dislike toward the High Priest. Himeko would have broken down and cried herself to death had she been the target of such a heated glare.

"Very well," Oogami-sensei nodded, appearing unruffled and untouched. Himeko wondered if he noticed Chikane-chan's not-so-friendly mood. "I will not bother you with the welcoming talk I usually give the faithful who venture into this holy place and get straight to the point. I summon you here, in this dark hour, because I require your aid."

"So you are implying that two little girls are more useful than the rest of the _men_ in this _great_ Shrine," the Himemiya princess said coolly. "You must be in a fine mood today to say such a thing as a joke." The blue-haired girl's tongue were as civil as that of any teacher, but with her head held high, she managed to look a true princess addressing a lowly commoner who happened to be groveling at her feet. Yukihito-san – a handsome man despite his cold and emotionless face who sat next to the High Priest – studied Chikane-chan as if an extinct creature.

"It's the truth," the High Priest, who didn't seem offended, said in a quiet but serious voice. "Either one of you is worth more than all five hundred Priests inhabiting this place."

"If I may ask, sensei," Himeko said, "why is that?"

"Because you possess more power than all of us could ever hope to achieve," Oogami-sensei made it sound the most obvious thing in the world. It wasn't.

"There is no need for sarcasm," Chikane-chan smiled a smile that would freeze hell over. "We are but normal high school girls _trying_ to stay away from a mad man who thinks he can take our lives and get away unpunished." Himeko swallowed uneasily. The way Chikane-chan said it, anyone would have thought that the mad man was Oogami-sensei's relative... or himself. Surprisingly enough, the High Priest flinched as if goosed. Afterwards, he eyed her warily. Himeko but wondered whether something had happened between the two of them when she was still asleep.

"You aren't just who you think you are, young ladies," the High Priest gave a tiny cough.

"Then please do enlighten us," Chikane-chan said.

"Before I do that, I must tell you something," Oogami-sensei replied calmly. If he had lost his balance a few seconds ago, he got it back now. "You see, the Grand Shrine have been protecting a secret for a long time, a piece of dark history known to no mortal but the members of the Oogami Clan."

"Are you quite sure _your brother_ is not another piece of Shingetsu's secret himself, Oogami-san?" the Himemiya princess smiled again, this time much more coldly than she did last, if that was possible. What kind of secret was Oogami Souma, really?

"From the beginning of time," the High Priest continued smoothly as though never interrupted. He did peer at Chikane-chan curiously, though, perhaps wondering how he had offended her. "Unbeknownst to most, the Immortals of Heaven walked the Earth. Disguised, they wandered the World of Men to flee the boredom that came as the price of eternal life. At first, they were just Gods and Goddesses who had too much time on their hands, completely harmless... until they discovered the fun in toying with the people who spent their ephemeral lifespan trying to bring food to the table. The Immortals then started playing pranks on the poor people, which escalated to monstrous atrocities in the end. There had been records that an anonymous God slaughtered an entire village, men, women, _and_ children, just because he wanted to prove he could."

"But that's too cruel!" Himeko said, horrified. She had always believed the Immortals were protectors of the world. It seemed Yukihito-san shared the same sentiment as her, for the man's face was a mask of rage, his fists clenching so hard she thought they would bleed.

"Indeed," Oogami-sensei nodded. "However, such tragedies were brought to the attention of the _Lord of Izumo_ and the _Lady of Reiha_, the two _Makers of the World_. The Lord and the Lady, after a secret meeting, decided that the Immortals must be reined in or Onogoro, the name given to the then Earth, would face total destruction. They let it be known that a new Law was made, which forbade all intervention from the Immortals to the Human World."

"What does that have to do with us?" Curiosity tinged the princess's cool voice.

"Everything, Himemiya-san, for that very law set the stage for what happened in your school," the High Priest said gravely. "It dated back all the way to three thousand years ago, when the Immortals of Heaven sentenced a God named Yamata no Orochi to _death_."

"Yamata no Orochi!" Himeko squeaked. "You mean that eight-headed snake we learned in the stories? He was _real_"

"Very much so, yes," the High Priest answered. "Yamata no Orochi, who termed himself the Dark God of Blood and Destruction, refusing to be killed at the hand of his people, fled to the Earth. Thanks to his skills in persuasion, he succeeded in gathering a huge amount of worshippers, thus building a large army upon this very land. None had had the power to stop him."

"How about the Immortals?" Himeko asked. "They didn't do anything?"

"It was not that they didn't, Kurusugawa-san, they _obviously_ couldn't." Oogami-sensei barked a painful laugh. Himeko wished the man would not treat his story as if common sense sometimes. She wondered if there was a way to ask him what he meant without sounding extraordinarily stupid...

"Because of Orochi's worshippers, of course," Chikane-chan said, still looking coldly at Oogami-sensei. Yet, seeing how gentler the princess's voice had become, Himeko knew the explanation was meant for her. Himeko smiled at her gratefully. "The Dark God had become a part of those people's lives. Dealing with Orochi meant intervening in the mortals' business, thus breaking the law set by the Makers earlier. Besides, I suspected that the Dark God always kept his followers close so that he could use them as shields should the Immortals come at him."

"You learn very quickly, Himemiya-san," the High Priest's broad smile split his face into two. The princess, in return, favored him with a frosty look. While another person in the High Priest's place would have lost his smile, Oogami-sensei's refused to waver. A brave man...

"What happened next?" Himeko asked hurriedly. She had to try to divert Chikane-chan somehow.

"The change of the tide, Kurusugawa-san," the High Priest said. "Seventeen years after the Dark God's descent into Onogoro, hope was given to mankind in the form of two Maidens, named the Priestesses of Kannazuki, who were trained by the Immortals, who wielded enormous powers, who were able to summon Orochi's nemesis: _the Sword God Ame no Murakumo_. On the Lunar Shine on the majestic Moon the two lived, waiting for the day when they would rid the world of the menace of the Orochi."

"And how may that concern Himeko?" Chikane-chan demanded. The heat was back in her voice... but this time, there was also uneasiness and fear. She probably had figured out why she and Himeko were summoned to this place. "Why is it so important that you have to rouse her when she is still tired from everything from the night before? Why?!"

"Because your friend, Kurusugawa Himeko, is the reincarnation of one of the Kannazuki Priestesses, the Priestess of the Sun herself." All that was delivered by the High Priest in a level tone. His wariness toward the blue-haired princess still lingered, though.

Himeko stared at the sensei in shock, unable to say even a word. But whatever she was feeling inside, the blue-haired princess voiced it for her.

"Impossible," Chikane-chan said icily, her sapphire eyes, strong enough to drive nails into a wall, locked onto Oogami-sensei's. Creases formed on the middle-aged man's forehead, and he looked as though he wanted to break away from the princess's intense gaze. Next to him, Yukihito-san gave a wry chuckle. He seemed amused. "What part of _we are but normal high school girls_ do you _not_ understand, Shingetsu High Priest?" Chikane-chan made no attempt to move that Himeko could see, but she managed to loom in the Grand Hall, her presence growing after every word she spoke. Surprise dawned on the High Priest's face.

"I have proof, Himemiya-san," the sensei managed, turning to Himeko. "My apology for such an inappropriate question, Kurusugawa-san, but do you have any mark resembling the Sun on your body?"

Chikane-chan's gaze shifted to Himeko. By the time it arrived, it was no longer so hard that it could crush a man. Those beautiful eyes were sparking with a strange gentleness and affection that warmed her heart. However, she realized what message the other girl was sending her. She wanted Himeko to deny the existence of the mark. Perhaps she had not noticed it when she changed Himeko's clothes.

"I do," she admitted reluctantly, and the blue-haired princess sighed a sigh that tore at Himeko's heart. She wanted to say what Chikane-chan wished her to but the truth was still the truth. Besides, lying in front of the one she loved wasn't something she wanted.

"If I am not mistaken, it did not appear before yesterday, no?" The High Priest's face was shining... with what seemed to be hope. On contrary, though, only despair clouded that of the princess of the Himemiya.

"No," Himeko agreed.

"That mark is named the Sun Crest," Oogami-sensei smiled warmly at her, "the very proof that you are the Priestess of the Sun, other than the fact that a Follower had attempted to remove you himself yesterday." The man clamped his mouth shut at the end of the sentence, appearing to have realized that he had said what he should not have.

"Follower?" Himeko asked. "Attempted to remove me? I don't understand, sensei." She didn't remember a thing about yesterday at all. She wondered why.

"I have told you that the Dark God had numerous worshippers three thousand years ago," the High Priest said, grief entering his voice. "Most of them were peasants, many were lords, but they were still easy to deal with. This time, it's different. The best of the Council of Priests in Tokyo, upon observing every turbulence in the Cycle of Death and Rebirth, had informed the rest that eight humans, each endowed with the blessings of Yamata no Orochi himself, had been born into this world. We called them the Eight Followers, Kurusugawa-san, who boast powers no other human can dream of. Worse, since their minds are plagued by the darkness of Orochi, they are hell-bent on destroying the Human World. They are not different from demons... well, _most of them_ are not. We have tried to hunt them down years ago, yet when we finally captured one, it was almost too late."

"Indeed," Chikane-chan commented, and the High Priest dropped his gaze in what seemed to be guilt.

"You caught a Follower?" Himeko asked curiously.

Oogami-sensei frowned as though unwilling to speak, but when he opened his mouth, Chikane-chan had already been one step ahead of him.

"He is in the next room, Himeko," the blue-haired princess said softly, the heat in her voice stronger than ever. "Apparently sleeping _unguarded _and_ unchained_, as I have been informed before you woke."

"Shouldn't he be imprisoned in a basement or something?" Himeko gave a slight shiver. Next room, unguarded and unchained? That sounded way too dangerous to her.

"Why do you think the High Priest would do that to his _brother_?" Chikane-chan glanced at the sensei, accusation plain in her every single word.

"Eh?" was the only thing Himeko managed.

"Yes, Kurusugawa-san," the High Priest said in a resigned manner, "my little brother is one of the Followers. Another one had named him the Seventh Head. Under the influence of the Orochi, he attempted to kill you yesterday." Words rushed out of the man's mouth as though he was begging for Himeko's sympathy. "I assure you, he wasn't aware of what he was doing. Please understand, Kurusugawa-san, he never harbors any ill will toward anyone, least of all, you."

The High Priest said a great deal more but his words were lost on her, for an image already rising like a viper in her mind had all but occupied her attention. Oogami Souma... was the one who attacked her in her own room. He was the one with the dual-bladed sword, whose body was enveloped in an eerie purple light. Memories returned to her like the waves of the ocean crashing upon the beach in the heaviest storm. Now she remembered everything from the night before, even the deep hatred she had seen in the boy's scarlet eyes, even the terrible heat of the light with which he had struck her. Overwhelmed by the painful currents of images and sensation, she passed out.

* * *

"Himeko!" the daughter of the Himemiya cried at the same time she caught Kurusugawa Himeko in her embrace. The blue-haired girl looked so frightened for the other girl's safety that no one could have thought she was the same person who slaughtered Kazuki with her acid comments just a moment ago. He tried not to laugh. _Slaughtered_. He had been High Priest for thirty years, and more often than not, commanded fear and respect. This was the first time ever that someone, a teenaged girl at that, bandied words with him and succeeded. Everything sure was changing. 

"Is she alright?" Kazuki asked.

"She is," Chikane said in utmost relief. "She just passed out from shock." She shot him another accusing glance. She probably blamed him and his younger brother for the collapse of the other girl, too, despite the fact that, as he refrained from pointing out, she was the one who mentioned Souma in the first place.

Kazuki studied Himemiya Kyou's daughter with great interest. She did have something of her old man in her face, especially her sapphire eyes, strong enough to intimidate men twice her age and over. She looked nothing alike Himemiya Kimika – her mother, who happened to be Kazuki's childhood friend – on the other hand. Kimika was a beautiful woman but she in the prime of her life would pale next to her daughter, one yet to reach the age where her beauty fully blossomed.

Not just in appearance, of course, they also had their share of differences in personality. Submissive and mild as spring water, Kimika was the exact opposite of Chikane, who was firm in her position and defiant toward anyone who didn't earn her respect. The girl inherited such interesting traits from her daredevil of a father, it would appear.

There was something she did _not_ get from her parents, apparently. Kazuki turned his attention back to the Himemiya daughter, who was cradling the other girl in her arms as though wanting to protect her from the men in this chamber. So... that was where the winds blew... He was a fool to not have noticed before. Everything made _perfect_ sense now.

The Priestess of the Sun was the underlying cause of Chikane's foul and murderous mood this afternoon. Of course, she was enraged _because_ Kazuki brought Kurusugawa Himeko here against her wish. She felt offended _because_ he did not let the golden-haired girl have her overdue rest. She more than demonstrated her animosity toward him _because_ he was Souma's brother, who attempted to murder the one she...

_Loves,_ the word hung in Kazuki's mind. Himemiya Chikane had fallen head over heels in love with Kurusugawa Himeko. There was no mistaking it. No wonder why he had suddenly had a flash of déjà vu about her parents witnessing how softer and gentler her gaze became during the heartbeat it swiveled from him to Himeko when he asked the girl about the Sun Crest. In the names of the Immortals, that only reminded him of how Kimika looked at Himemiya Kyou when they became a couple! Amusement washed over him. It would appear that some things _never_ changed. He wondered what his old friends would say once they learned of this, though.

"Yukihito-kun, would you bring Kurusugawa-san back to her room?" Kazuki said to his assistant, which earned himself a glare sharp enough to skin a man from Himemiya Chikane. Her expression but ensured that Yukihito-kun would regret it should the young man even _try_ to lay even a finger on the girl she loved. Apparently, Yukihito-kun thought so too, for he was eyeing the Himemiya girl with great reluctance.

"Fine," Kazuki shook his head, "_you_ do it, Himemiya-san. But come back here after that, please, we need to talk."

"I believe we do," Himemiya Chikane stood up, carrying Kurusugawa Himeko in her arms while glancing imperiously at Kazuki. He suppressed an amused chuckle. The night before, when Kazuki met her in Ototachibana Academy and told her that he would take Himeko to Shingetsu by hooks or by crooks, her transfixing sapphire gaze had caught him by surprise, for he had never thought that someone in Mahoroba would resist a reasonable suggestion from _the_ High Priest. Well, she didn't just resist. She bloody told him flat out that she would _not_ obey. Had he not brought his subordinates with him, he would have returned to Shingetsu empty-handed. Had he realized what their relationship was at that time, though, perhaps he could have found a way to bring Himeko to Shingetsu instead of bullying Himemiya Chikane into it and subsequently making her look like she wanted to kill him.

Himemiya swept out of the Grand Hall like a queen, never bothered to ask for Kazuki's leave like the rest of Mahoroba would. She had stopped calling him '_sensei,_ also. Perhaps to her, he had become pretty much an eyesore that needed to be removed, just like his younger brother. Kazuki sighed. He needed to set heavy guards around Souma now. Not because Kazuki wanted to keep tab on him, of course. He only wanted his brother to be _protected_. When Himemiya Chikane _awakened_, the boy, with or without Orochi powers, might not survive her wrath.

* * *

When Kurusugawa Himeko opened her eyes, she was already back in the room where she had awoken before, except that her beloved Chikane-chan was not there by her side, watching her sleep. Somewhat disappointed, Himeko sat up on her futon, hand massaging her temple. When she tried to give her head a little shake to clear the dizziness, her gaze fell upon a little piece of paper right where the blue-haired princess once sat. 

_"Dear Himeko,"_ it read, "_if you see this letter, I am still speaking with the High Priest."_ Unlike the other words, flowing elegantly across the piece of paper, the last two were written in such a sharp hand that had Chikane-chan pressed the tip of her pen a little harder, perhaps she would have torn the sheet apart. Himeko swallowed a rueful chuckle. Apparently, the princess had not thought of Oogami-sensei any better. _"Stay there. Do not leave the room until I return. It is not safe for anyone outside at the moment, especially you. I will come back to you as soon as I can. Your friend, Himemiya Chikane."_

Smiling quietly to herself, she took the piece of paper, folded it neatly, and put it into her pocket.

The blue-haired princess was wrong about one thing though. Outside was by no means more dangerous than in Shingetsu Grand Shrine, where an Orochi Follower was being nursed back to health. She grimaced. She shouldn't have thought of Oogami Souma so. After all, Oogami-sensei had said that the boy was not himself when he tried to... murder her. But then, who could say when he would fall under the spell of the Dark God again? She shivered. She did not intend to be near him when he did. She doubted luck would favor her a second time.

A scary thought crossed her mind. She lived through that tumultuous night without a scratch... but was her roommate as lucky as her? Worries burned beneath her skin. Concern for the safety of her friend nettled her heart. Himeko had to go see her to make sure Mako-chan was okay...

Himeko walked to the table on the other side of the room, took out a sheet of paper, and wrote a few lines to let Chikane-chan know that she was going back to the Dorm to check on her roommate. She knew she was supposed to wait for the princess to come back and tell her that in person...but really, only the Gods could guess when the other girl would finish her _talk_ with the Shingetsu High Priest. For all she knew, they could be shouting at each other right at this moment... Besides, the blue-haired princess would insist on going with Himeko for sure. Himeko didn't want that. Chikane-chan – who accidentally let slip that she had not gotten much sleep because she watched over Himeko the whole time – needed rest instead of running around.

After she was done with the writing, Himeko hurried out of the Grand Shrine of the Sacred Moon. If she recalled correctly, there was a bus stop somewhere near Shingetsu's gate. It would do. It would take her to where she wanted...

* * *

Sitting on the roof of the Grand Hall of Shingetsu, Yui watched Kurusugawa Himeko running toward the Grand Shrine's gate and then hopping on a bus that came in the nick of time. She shook her head in mild exasperation. Little Chikane would not be pleased at this turn of events. In fact... the girl would be worried sick when she returned to the room and found nothing but a note saying her sweetheart had left without her. Well, in that case, she guessed she should be going, too. 

Still in sitting position, Yui's body rose into the air and vanished in a flash of golden light.

* * *

"What in goodness's name?" Kurusugawa Himeko muttered in disbelief as she stood in front of the Ototachibana Girls' Dorm... or most of it. The missing upper-right corner of the front side, where her and Mako-chan's room was, looked as though blasted away by a small bomb. From there, cracks, huge and deep, ran all over the place. All the windows had been thoroughly shattered, the white color of the walls replaced with black soot. Himeko was under the impression that if anyone poked the Dorm with just a finger, it might just go crumbling down. Goosebumps rose on every inch her skin. If Oogami Souma could do this to a_ concrete _buildingwith just a strike from his sword... how did she, all flesh and blood, survive? 

"Kurusugawa-kun?" Suzuhara Aiko-san said cheerfully. The Dorm manager, gray in hair and long in the tooth yet still as energetic as any girl Himeko's age, waved to her as she strode out from behind the ruined building. "You're safe!"

"Good afternoon," Himeko bowed to the elderly lady.

"Forget the formalities," Suzuhara-san beamed up at her. "I can't tell you how glad I am to see you're okay." The lady called the students living in the Dorm _her girls _and treated them the way a mother would her blood daughters. Having none herself, she focused her attention and affection on the lot of them and tried her best to make them comfortable under her roof.

"Thanks, Suzuhara-san," Himeko patted the shoulder of the diminutive lady and said warmly. "I'm relieved that you're well, too. Where's everyone else?"

"In various _inns_ in the City," the manager sounded scandalized. She never thought well of those inns in the first place. "The Dorm is in no living condition, so I have no other choice but to send the girls away. Poor them. Who would wake them every morning so they can get to school on time? Who would take care of the nutrition of their meals? I hope they won't gain too much weight while there."

"Ah, excuse me..." Himeko said, hoping she could stop the flood of complaints about the City inns from the manager. The Gods knew how sentimental she got when she spoke of them...

"Speaking about the girls, I have to send their belongings to them soon," Suzuhara-san went on as though she didn't hear anything from Himeko. "Good thing that I have a list of the names of where they're staying." Suddenly, she turned to Himeko and said apologetically. "I'm sorry, Kurusugawa-kun, that mysterious explosion in your room destroyed all your stuff. I couldn't salvage a thing."

"All my stuff?" Himeko said bleakly. "What about the... things in the drawers of my desk?"

"There wasn't even a desk when I went there." The manager sighed. "I'm sorry."

Something clenched Himeko's throat. So the picture album, her most prized possession, all the memories she had made with Chikane-chan during the last year... was gone. Well, she guessed she could ask the blue-haired princess for a copy of her album but... Himeko sighed. She had spent so much time with hers that the thing had always felt like a part of her body. Losing it just hurt her a lot.

"Saotome-kun is not any better off than you, either," Suzuhara-san muttered. "Her stuff is also burned."

"Ah, yes, Mako-chan," snapping out of her daze, Himeko seized the opening, "would you know the name of the inn she's staying at?"

"You don't know, Kurusugawa-kun?" the manager looked up at her, grief suffusing her voice. Chills slithered down Himeko's spine.

"What do you mean?"

"Saotome-kun is in Tate University Hospital," Suzuhara-san sighed, "she broke her leg last night."

An invisible something gripped on Himeko's throat. _Mako-chan..._

"Would you take me to her, please, Suzuhara-san?" Himeko managed after a moment, her voice trembling as though it was going to break.

"Of course," the Dorm manager said in sympathy. "Let's go to my car, Kurusugawa-kun."

Following the elderly lady in silence, Himeko only wanted to cry. Mako-chan was in the school's track and field team, ready to participate in the annual Interhigh Athletic Competition about to take place right here in Mahoroba. For this alone, Himeko's roommate had been training days and nights regardless of the weather, ignoring her own body's limits. It was supposed to be the opportunity for Himeko's friend to gain the recognition she deserved. It was supposed to be the day she made her name in the athletic world. But in her condition right now... how could Mako-chan make her dream reality?

* * *

Holding the note her sweetheart left behind in her hand, Himemiya Chikane's internal organs turned to ice. Silly Himeko, why could she not realize the dangers lurking in the darkness even after that incident? There were _seven_ Followers left. Another one might just decide to come after her when she was out and about. She should at least have waited for Chikane to come back before leaving. This way, the little angel was but an Orochi bait. And what was wrong with the Priests anyway? If they knew Himeko was the Priestess of the Sun, savior to the world, how in goodness's name did she let her slip away unnoticed? Why did they not even put a guard on her door in the first place? 

Chikane tried to calm herself down but to no avail, her heart pulse was rising so fast it hurt. _Himeko._ She could not afford standing here and wondering what might happen and what not. She had to go. Chikane rushed out of Shingetsu Grand Shrine, ignoring all the Priests going wide-eyed. _Himeko, please be alright! _

* * *

"Who's there?" Saotome Makoto answered to the knock on the door without taking her eyes off her window, through which she could see the blood-red sun sinking halfway into the horizon. Somehow, she had the feeling that it would never rise again. 

"Mako-chan, it's me," Himeko's voice said, and Makoto's heart turned cold. "May I come in?"

"Why did you come?" Makoto said.

Silence answered her. The golden-haired girl must be shocked. Of course, that wasn't something one would say to the person who paid one a visit in a hospital. Makoto guessed she was supposed to tell Himeko that it was okay to open the door, too... except that she wouldn't. The result would probably be devastating on both sides at the very least. Also, Makoto had already had enough shares of heartbreak for a day. Or a year, actually...

"Suzuhara-san said you were injured, so I wanted to check on you, that's all," Himeko said from the other side of the door after a while. She sounded... somewhat guilty and scared. Makoto resisted a sarcastic laughter. Makoto's injury wasn't her fault, why should she feel guilty? And why was she scared just because she heard Makoto's voice? It was quite cold, true, but Makoto didn't think it was _that_ cold.

"I'm fine," Makoto said curtly. "You may leave."

"How's your leg, Mako-chan?" Himeko asked, seemingly unaware of what Makoto had said.

"Permanently fractured," Makoto laughed in bitterness. "I will never be able to run for the rest of my life."

Another pause came. This time, Makoto actually heard a small sob. The girl always cried so easily...

"Leave." The finality note in Makoto's voice made no mistake that she didn't want Himeko's company.

"But I..."

"Leave, I beg you!"

"I'm sorry, Mako-chan," was the last thing Himeko said before she ran away, voice broken to pieces.

After Himeko's footsteps had completely faded away, Makoto buried her face in her hands and wept. Not because her hope had been painfully murdered. Not because she had lost sight of what she had been aiming for so long...

_Himeko._ The reason why she cried was Himeko. Stupid girl. She never understood Makoto's feelings. She didn't even noticed how much Makoto loved her. She had no idea that Makoto would do anything as long as she could make her smile.

That evening, after Himeko forsook her hand in the evacuation, Makoto had run against the current of students after her. She hadn't cared that her own life was in jeopardy. She only wanted Himeko safe and sound. Ironically enough, she never made it back to her room. Somewhere along the way, someone crashed into her and knocked her over just for the others to trample on her leg. It had been the moment the darkness defeated her.

Still, Makoto never regretted it. What she did, she did for the sake of the one she loved. She was only sad because Himeko already had someone _she_ loved. _Himemiya Chikane._ Himeko was a clueless and simple girl at best. She had no idea that Makoto read her as easily as she would a book. Himeko's flustered expression when she saw Himemiya, the fond looks she sent after the blue-haired princess's back, none escaped Makoto's eyes. The girl never learned that when she opened her drawers at night and took out her precious hidden treasure, Makoto was still awake.

When it happened the first time, Makoto was merely puzzled, for she didn't know what Himeko was up to so late at night watching a picture album. Yeah, she wasn't particularly interested during the first several seconds... until the loveliest smile lit up her friend's reddened face. Himeko never smiled like that to Makoto. Nor did she ever blush. That night, Makoto had learned firsthand the bitter taste of jealousy.

The day after, Makoto stood in the room in front of the table after Himeko had already gone out. She then picked the lock with her hairpin. In five minutes, the album came into her grasp. It was even more excruciating than she expected. By time she flipped past the last page, Makoto was already crying non stop. Himeko had never been so happy around her, never so cheerful and energetic. That fact alone hurt enough to kill.

Of course Makoto knew the affection her roommate had for her was never more than that of a friend. She only didn't want to acknowledge it as truth. More than that, she had gone as far as forcing herself to believe that one day, Himeko would realize that Makoto would sacrifice everything for her sake. Every day Makoto waited. Every moment she woke, she wished Himeko would come to her and tell her she loved her. Had life been fair, that little wish would have come true. Had the Immortals of Heaven known what was best for the golden-haired girl, Himemiya Chikane would have dropped dead.

Makoto clenched her fists. As long as the rich girl lived, Makoto stood no chance in winning the golden-haired girl over. Himeko's eyes only saw Himemiya Chikane's figure, her head only contained Himemiya Chikane's images, and her ears only heard Himemiya Chikane's words. Makoto had tried to disabuse her roommate's hope that she could have Himemiya – once right after Makoto found a devastatingly blissful expression Himeko in Himemiya's embrace – but try as she might, she never succeeded.

Makoto wept harder. She didn't think there was any point in staying near Himeko, or even in living, any longer. She had lost her roommate, the only meaning she believed this world had, the only present she thought life had meant for her. If only Makoto had died on the night they broke her leg...

* * *

"A _cute_ girl, half a head shorter than you, with long golden hair, kid?" the nurse at the reception desk of Tate University Hospital, a large woman with a motherly face, looked up from a computer and asked Himemiya Chikane warmly. 

She nodded. Worries clawed at her stomach, fear bubbling in her mind. The people at the ruined Dorm of Ototachibana Academy said the manager had taken Himeko to this hospital. Chikane only hoped she could find her sweetheart here. The night was coming, and everyone knew how hard it was to search for someone in the dark within a city of millions, many of whom would not be gentle to a pretty girl found in their midst. Chills wrecked her body. _Gods, make it not so, _she prayed fervently in her heart. Thugs aside, there was still the heavy rain that had poured down without a warning as soon as she entered the hospital. Himeko might just fall prey to pneumonia if she was not careful.

"Well," the woman chuckled, "I've seen lots of girls whose hair have that shade of color around here lately, but I think only one of them can be called cute. Does she wear the same uniform as you, dear?"

"Yes," a broad smile bloomed on Chikane's lips, "she is here?"

"She _was_," the woman corrected, and Chikane felt as though she had been hit by a hammer. "She came in asking for a patient's name, went to that same person's room, and then ran crying out of this place ten minutes later."

Chikane's heart throbbed painfully inside her chest. Himeko... running out... crying? What happened to her?

"How long ago was it?" she said, voice shaking as though a tree caught in an earthquake.

"A little more than fifteen minutes, I'd say, kid," the nurse tapped her lips thoughtfully. "But I'm not sure myself."

"Would you happen to know which way she went, also?"

"I doubt," the woman shook her head. "I have many patients in here to keep me busy. I only noticed her because she bumped into someone on her way out. Poor girl, she was crying too hard to see what's in front of her eyes. But then, why should I care too much about her? She isn't _my_ lover."

Chikane gave a start at the nurse's sudden glance at her, which meant more than a thousand words. Heat rose in her cheeks as an indulging smile flashed on the woman's lips, probably was saying, _Is she yours?_Chikane wondered if she had given out too many clues while asking about the golden-haired girl.

"Thank you for all your help, ma'am," Chikane inclined her head.

"No need, dear," the woman dismissed the thanks with a wave of her hand. "Go find her, and make her happy again. She looks like a very nice girl."

Chikane hoped she was not blushing.

She turned around, and found herself looking at a slender young woman as tall as she, only prettier. Chikane knew that she was blessed with good looks not many people had but were she to stand next to this woman, she would barely be noticeable. Chikane could even feel the whole room quiet down, every eye, men's and women's alike, shifting toward the newcomer. The nurse at the reception desk was staring at her – hands on her mouth, eyeballs about to leap off her sockets – as though seeing an angel on Earth.

The young woman's hair, cascading in waves almost all the way to her feet, was of the exact same shade as that of Himeko, yet it somehow seemed to shine with an aura that put the fluorescent light on the ceiling to shame. Her eyes, sparkling golden like her hair, were so beautiful Chikane could not help wanting to dwell herself in them forever. In a long-sleeved, high-collared snowy coat and a pair of casual denim jeans, the woman lit up the waiting room of the hospital the way the sun illuminated the world. Chikane had never met such a person before, yet somehow, she seemed awfully familiar.

"Forgive me for eavesdropping on you, young lady," the woman said with a smile, voice as beautiful as that of a nightingale, "I happen to know the whereabouts of the one you are searching for."

"Then, tell me, please!" Chikane-said, hope welling in her heart.

"On my way here, I saw her sitting and crying under an oak tree near the University swimming pool," the woman replied. "Do you know where it is?"

"I do." Chikane nodded. "Thank you." She bowed to the woman as deeply as she ever did. In fact, some part of her had wanted to make her sink to her knees and lower her head until her forehead touched the tiled floor. She did not know why, though.

Not wasting any more time, Chikane bounded to her feet and ran towards the doors. When she stopped and looked back, however, the woman was gone. The nurse was back to hammering the keyboard of her computer with her sausage fingers, eyes glued on the monitor's screen. The other people waiting in the room either paced its length in worry or read a newspaper. They all gave no impression that a woman had just graced them with her stunning presence. Chikane shivered. They were acting as though the woman never existed.

* * *

Sitting somewhere in the backyard of the Grand Shrine, Oogami Souma looked intently at the double-edged sword propped on his knee. Wielding it, he felt like he could do anything he wished. The power that flooded into his soul, the strength that overwhelmed his heart was... exhilarating. Raien, its name was. With its help, he defeated the damned woman of the Orochi who forced him to attacked Kurusu..., no, Himeko, the love of his life. Orochi... Disgust stirred his stomach. How nice of him to talk about them so while he was an Orochi Head himself. 

Yes, Souma was born to be an Orochi, a follower of the Dark God of Blood Destruction. Shortly after regaining his consciousness, he had wanted to die when his nii-san told him the truth. The Eight Followers of Orochi had been awakened by the Dark God's call, as was he. He had been taught since childhood and he was meant to protect the people he loved but with the darkness within him, there was no telling when he would reemerge as a bloodthirsty monster. After yesterday, he had realized that the will power he was ever so proud of was just as fragile as a piece of glass.

Souma cursed himself, cursed the day of his birth. Although he was under the influence of the Dark God, it was still his own hands that wielded Raien. It was his own hands that nearly killed Himeko. Thank the Gods she was alright, though. Had she been harmed, Souma would never be able to forgive himself. He was indeed a monster, one that needed to be put down as soon as possible.

Out of the blue, something in his head rang in alarm. This feeling... was the one he had when he confronted the evil woman of the Orochi! Someone was watching him from behind! He spun around, Raien in his hand, poised to strike. About five meters from him a young man in a black suit stood, looking at him curiously. Like a bird peering at a worm, Souma would say. But certainly, the man was an Orochi just as Souma was.

"What is wrong, Seventh Head? You do not seem well," the man said.

"You've come to die, Orochi?" Souma answered harshly.

"The name's Girochi, the Third Head, by the way, Oogami." The Orochi said casually, completely ignoring Raien's pulses of purple light. "And I am here to retrieve the Lightning Blade. It's Orochi property, you know, and you are one of us no more."

"Is that so? Then take it if you can!" Raien's tip drew a spiral in the air as it aimed for Girochi's throat. Souma had to admit, Raien was a monster sword. Even the air crackled as the blade's power cut through it. However, Girochi simply smiled and dodged his attack by leaping onto a branch of a tree.

"Courtesy, courtesy, Oogami. You should at least have let me draw my sword first before going for my life." The Orochi raised his right hand and with that, a sword that was as shiny as the surface of a calm pond took form. "Why are you in such a hurry, anyway? In the end, you will still fall under Suikyou edges. A minute or a second does not matter much."

"Bring it on, Orochi!" Souma roared.

* * *

Sitting under the oak tree, Kurusugawa Himeko looked up at the clouded heavens, watching the rain descend upon her face and the rest of her body, soaking them wet. Once in a while, a drop would fall into her eyes and made them squeeze shut just to release another outburst of salty water when they opened once more. The cold stung against every inch of her skin, constantly reminding her that she would catch a cold, if she hadn't already, were she still refusing to find a shelter. But she doubted she cared about that now. Not really, not after she had seen the destruction of a large part of the city while riding in Suzuhara-san's car... Not after knowing what had happened to her dear roommate... 

Tragedy had struck Mahoroba the day before, leaving all but destruction and sadness. Houses were burned to dust, blood spilled on the ground, unwashed. Here and there, some people had stood in front of piles of rocks and stones, what were once their sanctuaries. They were unmoving, doing naught except watching people passing by, their eyes lifeless and dull like those of the dead.

It was all her fault. She was the Priestess of the Sun, Yamata no Orochi's enemy. For his targeting her, many people were hurt and some even lost their lives. It was because of her that Mako-chan's dream was destroyed. It was her own doings that Mako-chan wanted her out of sight. She was nothing more than a magnet for disaster, bad luck to whomever she cherished. Should she linger in this town, or any place people lived, more and more would be involved in Orochi's quest to eliminate her.

She wouldn't let that happen. She couldn't bear to watch the ones she loved suffered for her sake anymore. She had to go away, maybe to somewhere Orochi could never find or at least kill her without the loss of innocent lives. Yeah, it was a good idea. In the bank, she still had some money left. It would be enough, surely...

Of course, leaving meant never to see Chikane-chan again, never to be able to see the face of the most important person in the world, Yet, she wouldn't change her mind. If misfortune were to befall someone, she prayed it would be herself instead of the girl she loved.

She reached into her pockets. In her left was the present she had meant to give Chikane-chan on her birthday, which she had no idea how it got back into her uniform. In her right was a folded piece of paper, the ink upon which had already been washed away by the rain. When she realized that Chikane-chan's handwritings were completely destroyed, she had broken down crying.

Himeko's situation was hopeless. Powerful enemies were hunting her so they could kill her _when_ they found her. It was not a matter of '_if_, for Himeko didn't believe she could escape her fate. Her best friend didn't want the sight of her. She had lost her precious picture album along with anything else that contained her memory with the blue-haired princess. And worst of all, she wouldn't be able to meet her first love ever again. Himeko wondered why she even considered running away instead of... _jumping into some river and drowning herself to death_, a strange thought occurred to her.

Himeko's eyes dawned upon the rectangular outdoor swimming pool a hundred feet or so in front of from her. Its surface, punctured incessantly by the falling rain, was as dark as the clouded heavens. An alien voice whispered in her the back of her head, advising her of a way to end all her suffering. _Into the water, into the depth,_ it murmured. She had never heard such a voice in her life... but somehow, it sounded awfully convincing that even thinking of resisting it seemed a crime. Himeko looked at the pool intently. She didn't know how deep the pool was, yet even if it was like the shallowest one she ever saw in her life... it would still be enough. Perhaps it was no river with treacherous currents powerful enough to sweep her away... it should still be enough...

Himeko rose to her feet and walked toward the pool, her mind strangely calm, her head completely empty except for the little voice that had been telling her to step quicker. She guessed it meant she was doing the right thing. She hoped she was.

The swimming pool itself sat next to a small building only one-story high, both carefully fenced against trespassers. Fortunately for her – or perhaps unfortunately, she couldn't decide which in this state of mind – there was an opening, a gate that should have been locked but was left ajar, allowing her the access to the small body of water, where she hoped would be her final resting place.

Under the assault of the cold, endless rain, she treaded upon the steps that led her deeper and deeper into the pool. Freezing water, only brushing against her feet at first, slowly reached her waist, her chest, and eventually, her neck. Then it engulfed her whole. In what seemed to be longer than a century, Himeko hung within the black water, feeling it pressing against her body, stinging against her eyes, blocking her nose, flooding her mouth, and streaming down her throat. Darkness consumed her vision, nothingness occupied her mind, and a horrible cramp wrecked her whole self apart. It was painful, it made her want to flail her arms and feet desperately to swim to the surface. Yet even if she obeyed the urge to live, she couldn't, for she wasn't able to move even her fingertips. Thus Himeko continued to sink into the depth, wondering where she would go once she had passed into the afterlife.

It turned out that she would never be able to know that, for when she could open her eyes again, she found her arms wrapping around someone's neck, her head resting against someone's shoulder, her body being carried around in that someone's arms. Next she knew, she was sitting against a wall of a room brightly lit by the fluorescent tubes hanging on its ceiling, breathing weakly while looking at an anxious Chikane-chan, whose blue hair was matted to her face, whose clothes were soaking wet. The princess must have been the one who brought Himeko out of the water and saved her life. Himeko just wanted to weep. It seemed she couldn't stay away from the one she loved whether she intended to or not.

"Are you okay, Himeko?" Chikane-chan asked. Her hand was laid gently upon Himeko's shoulder, her face painted with concern.

"C... cold..." Himeko mumbled. Her voice was trembling. Every inch of her body was ice.

"You must be," Chikane-chan said, her voice taut with worry. "Look at you, you are shaking. What in goodness's name could you be doing in that pool, Himeko? Had I not seen you in time, you would have been..." She cut off abruptly at that, but both of them knew full well what she meant. _Dead. _Himeko only wished she was.

"Where... I...?"

"In the pool's locker room," the Himemiya Ojou-sama sighed, "but answer me, please!"

Himeko closed her eyes and kept silent, trying to hold back her tears. Shame welled in her heart. What would Chikane-chan think were Himeko to say that she was trying to commit suicide?

"If you do not wish to speak, fine," Chikane-chan said.

In the darkness, Himeko faintly heard the soft footfalls of the princess drifting away, the screeching sounds of metal doors opening and closing as though the other girl was rummaging through every locker there was in the room, and finally her footfalls back toward Himeko. Her eyes sprang open when something soft and fuzzy fell upon her head. It was a bath towel, with which Chikane-chan used to start drying Himeko's hair.

Her breath caught.

A few inches away from her face was that of the blue-haired princess, sapphire eyes gazing straight ahead while her hand deftly wiping away the water, their noses all but touched. Had Himeko been able to move a muscle on her body, she would have thrown herself against Chikane-chan, attempted to kiss her forever, and dignity be hanged. She didn't think she would be able to contain her desire when the face of the one she loved was so close, when her warm, fragrant breaths continued to brush upon her nose, her cheeks.

"Can you move, Himeko?" the princess asked as she pulled away, her voice hesitant all of a sudden.

"No..." Himeko managed, and immediately regretted it when she heard what Chikane-chan muttered afterwards.

"Then I have to take off your clothes myself." A faint color stained the princess's snowy complexion.

"Huh..." Shock seized Himeko. "Wait... You... can't..."

"They are soaked to every stitch," the princess said in a rueful voice. "You cannot wear them any longer. So please, forgive me, Himeko." Had Himeko not clamped her mouth shut, she would have screamed in horror.

"Don't... Chikane... chan..." Himeko gathered her strength and begged. She said much more, yet the clattering of her teeth prevented them from becoming anything but a bunch of unintelligible words.

The Himemiya Ojou-sama reached behind Himeko's head and took off the red silk bow with which she used to tie her hair together. Once the bow safely lay upon the carpeted floor, the princess's soft hands quietly moved to unbutton the Ototachibana sleeveless red jacket, then the white shirt beneath it. Goosebumps rose over Himeko's skin as the other girl's pulled the sodden piece of clothing down, exposing to the cold air Himeko's shoulders, then her upper body, naked except for the bra covering her modest chest. Her face burned in embarrassment as she heard a sharp intake of breath from the blue-haired girl. She had thought she wanted to see Chikane-chan's expression while undressing her. She now knew that she wouldn't... not when she thought her heart would burst from merely being _aware_ of what the princess was doing to her. As the other girl took the wet skirt and her stockings off, she used all the strength she had to turn her head away and prevented a gasp from escaping her lips.

It got worse.

Apparently, Chikane-chan never intended to leave Himeko's small clothes on like the time she undressed her in Shingetsu Grand Shrine.

"I am sorry," Chikane-chan mumbled, her body leaning forward, her hands slid soundlessly under Himeko's arms and reached toward Himeko's back. _"A steamy embrace"_ was the only thing she could call it. The princess's front all but pressed against hers, the Himemiya Ojou-sama's chin but rested on her left shoulder, the other girl's blue and wet hair but matted to her cheek. The cold fingertips of the princess, fumbling around the clasp of Himeko's bra and fluttering against her skin, constantly sent lightning-powerful shivers rippling through her every nerve. Face suffused with blood, Himeko's teeth rounded on her tongue to stop herself from whimpering aloud. And it didn't prepare her in the least bit when the other girl removed her underwear. Himeko was so glad that the heat she felt had not cooked her alive after the cotton piece of cloth had been slipped off her legs.

"I..." Chikane-chan mumbled, tossing Himeko's underwear to the pile. "I do not have a choice, Himeko. I cannot leave you wearing wet clothes so. You will get sick," she said, sounding as though she was pleading for Himeko's sympathy, as though she had done something very wrong. In a way, she had. Himeko would prefer being sick for a year to being undressed by the one she loved, the one who she didn't know would love her back. A discordant thought stirred her mind. If she knew Chikane-chan loved her, would she still feel this way when the princess took off her clothes?

Probably not...

Not saying anything, Himeko continued to lie there, chewing her lips in embarrassment. She only wished this nightmare would end soon.

It didn't.

The blue-haired princess leaned the back of Himeko's body, now completely naked for all to see, against the left side her own, her left hand placed primly on Himeko's shoulder, her right hand holding the bath towel with which she had used to dry Himeko's hair and face. A lump of something rose in Himeko's throat. The other girl...meant to do the same to the rest of her body as well. Despite not being able to move, she flinched. Himeko bit her lips harder. How was she going to stop Chikane-chan from what she was going to do short of revealing her true feelings?

She didn't have enough time to think of a solution, it turned out. The most sensual torture in the world had already started.

Before, during the undressing, Himeko had tried her hardest to ignore the other girl's electric touches. Now... despite the aid of the bath towel separating Chikane-chan's palm and Himeko's skin, she could no longer pretend that she didn't feel a thing. The Himemiya Ojou-sama's hands trailed slowly from Himeko's neck to her shoulders, then down her upper arms, forearms, and her every fingertip, not sparing even a drop of water. It was gentle, it was kind, it was truly like a caress one might give her lover... but it was at the same time the most nerve-racking thing on earth. In her soul, stark desire was rising. Beneath her skin, a flame of passion was burning her whole. In her mind, the voice of reason clashed with a much stronger one, which seemed to stem from her love for the blue-haired princess. Thoughts whirled more violently than any maelstrom, most of which were so indecent and embarrassing that Himeko would not tell a soul even on her deathbed. Her heart was racing faster than any horse, her veins pulsing as though the blood inside was trying to break out, and her head brimming with enough heat to reduce steel to dust.

Her mind went blank when the princess's hand traveled to her chest, flicked past the heaving mounds and the valley between them so it could get to her belly. Her whole body was rigid with fright... and pleasure, the second one overwhelming the first. Her heart simply stopped, her head giving the impression it was going to explode from the torturous sensation. When the towel moved past her belly button and reached the part where her lower body joined with her thighs, the fatigue, the cold, and the feelings in her heart caught up with her. Darkness claimed Himeko.

Some time later, Himeko wasn't sure how long, she woke up in a bathrobe, tied together at her waist by a sash. She was sitting against the wall again, next to the Himemiya Ojou-sama, in the same getup. At the sight of the one she loved, the memories of the undressing came alive in her mind, stronger than ever. She really didn't know what to say to the blue-haired princess now.

"You have awoken, Himeko," Chikane-chan said cheerfully, face painted with relief. She leaned sideways toward Himeko, the princess's slender shoulder brushing against hers. Himeko gave a start, hastily scurried away from the other girl until an arm's length separated their bodies. She blushed.

"Great, you can move again," the princess smiled. "I guess that means I do not have to dress you come the time we get out of here."

"I guess," Himeko muttered, fully aware of both the relief and the disappointment in her voice. Relief she could understand, but disappointment? Heat flared in her cheeks. Maybe she wanted the other girl to touch her again...

"I cannot tell how glad I am to hear that," Chikane-chan laughed softy. "I do not wish to do that ever again. I mean, the way you reacted when I was taking off your wet clothes, I thought I was deflowering you." The laughter died, and the blue-haired girl snapped her mouth shut with an audible click of her teeth. Himeko studied the carpeted floor, face growing hotter by the minute.

"Anyway," Chikane-chan cleared her throat. "Are you well, Himeko?"

"Yes," Himeko answered briefly, still not looking at the one she loved. She wrapped her arms around her knees, hugging them tight. Every single inch of her body... the princess had seen... Every single inch of it she had also touched... The neck she stroked, the shoulder she caressed, the fingers she entwined, the breasts she gently cupped and dried... they were all but engraved with her warmth. Until the end of time, Himeko doubted her body would forget the memory of the princess's tender attention, and the feelings she had wrought. She couldn't tell whether it was a blessing the Gods had given her, or just a curse. Heaving a sigh, she decided on the blessing. After all, what was done, was done.

A loud sound suddenly thundered in the distance, and the fluorescent light went out. Himeko expected the darkness to descend from the ceiling, yet it didn't. The large chamber only became a little dimmer, for the moon was shining through the glass windows of the locker room, spreading its gentle shadow upon her, Chikane-chan, and a large piece of the carpet. The rain had stopped, the clouds cleared, leaving a sky reigned by the silver crescent and the countless stars attending it like nobles would a queen in her court.

Himeko sneezed.

"I am sorry, Himeko," the princess said apologetically. "I do not know where the switch for the heater is, and I do not dare leave you here all by yourself."

"I'm fine, Chikane-chan," a second sneeze came, immediately followed by a third, and a fourth. Dizziness hit Himeko, moisture struck the inside of her nose, and a terrible cold crept onto her flesh. The world seemed to sway around her while her whole body shivered as though sitting naked in the heart of winter. Couldn't help herself, Himeko ran her hands up and down her arms, hoping that it would warm her up. It didn't help.

"Are you cold?" the princess asked worriedly.

"Yeah," she admitted.

"Come here." Chikane-chan spread her knees apart and patted her hand upon the piece of carpet in-between. "It will be better if we sit close to each other." Himeko's breath caught.

"I think I'm fine by myself, Chikane-chan," she mumbled apprehensively, putting a little more distance between them.

"Are you sure?"

"Dead sure." Himeko nodded almost feverishly.

"Very well." the Himemiya princess smiled. "But we will not have to endure it for too long, though. I have made a call to my chauffer and told him to return to my house so he could bring us new clothes. He will be here any moment."

After that, the two of them sat in silence, the other girl gazing up at the crescent moon. Himeko ground her teeth together lest they clatter and hugged herself tightly to prevent it from trembling. When she stole a surreptitious glance at the princess, though, she noticed that the girl was in a condition no better than hers. The Himemiya Ojou-sama's face was pale and bloodless, standing out even in the moonlight. Her lips were so dry they clearly showed the cracks. Her nose every once in a while would issue a spray of mist that faded into the air almost instantly. It was the first time Himeko realized that her Chikane-chan wasn't so strong-willed she could overcome any obstacle, that she, too, was only a girl Himeko's age, a girl who was just as vulnerable to the harshness of nature. The princess, whose body only was covered by only a flimsy bathrobe, was being chilled to the bone.

Pain surged in Himeko's veins. Love grew in her heart. Because Chikane-chan wanted to save Himeko, she had had to dive into that freezing pool and become like this. It was Himeko's fault.

"I changed my mind, Chikane-chan." Himeko said, wondering whether she was coloring. "Would you... keep me warm?"

At first, the Himemiya Ojou-sama looked at Himeko in sheer curiosity, her sapphire eyes gleaming in the silver light of the moon, yet what she said afterwards was, "If you wish, Himeko."

That was how Himeko found her back leaning against the front of the one she loved about thirty seconds later. Yet, she never expected Chikane-chan's right hand to slip under her right arm and placed itself on Himeko's left shoulder while her other arm encircled Himeko's waist and hugged her tight. The princess's chin was propped on her right hand, their cheeks more than just touched. The way she held Himeko, she seemed to be afraid that Himeko would go somewhere and leave her forever.

Himeko's heart once again picked up its pace. Ever since the first embrace the blue-haired princess gave her in the Garden of the Roses, she had always wanted another one. In fact, her innate shyness and the fear that the Chikane-chan would discover her feelings were the only things that kept her from hugging the girl every time they met. But tonight should be okay, shouldn't it? If they were just keeping each other warm, Chikane-chan probably wouldn't suspect that Himeko was head over heels in love with her. Quietly, Himeko put her own hands upon that of the blue-haired princess, which was placed on the hollow of Himeko's waist. The blue-haired girl gave no evidence that she minded.

It seemed the close body contact was helping Chikane-chan as well, for her cheek and hands, cold as ice in the beginning, were warming up, her breathing stabilizing. Which eventually reminded Himeko that the girl's firm, ample bosom was rising and falling against her back. Chikane-chan would be offended to know this but... she felt really nice. Blood raced to Himeko's cheeks. She was having dirty thoughts again...

"Himeko?" Chikane-chan whispered, her warm breaths tickling Himeko's ear.

"Yes?"

"What were you doing in that pool?" the princess repeated the question she had asked before. Only this time, Himeko found words waiting to pour from her lips. Strangely enough, death no longer seemed so attractive when she was indulged in the tenderness of Chikane-chan's heart-warming embrace. She doubted _anything_ was.

"I was..." Himeko answered, "trying to kill myself."

"For what?" The blue-haired girl's voice didn't show a hint of surprise. Perhaps she only asked to confirm what she already suspected.

Slowly, Himeko told her the reasons. Well, most of them. She kept back the part about the despair that Himeko couldn't be with her anymore. She didn't know what Chikane-chan could make out from that piece of knowledge but since the princess was a very smart girl, Himeko wouldn't risk it. And of course, she didn't tell her crush about the little voice urging her to walk into the pool either. She doubted she wanted the other girl to think of her as someone who heard _voices_.

When she was done speaking, Himeko half-expected the other girl to shout at her. Chikane-chan never did. Instead, her arms tightened around Himeko's body as much as they could without hurting her.

"You have suffered much on your own, Himeko," the princess murmured, and Himeko turned her head to look at the other girl. "I only wish I could take your pain and make you feel better." Her words were simple, yet the sincere anguish in her voice, the affectionate light in her sapphire eyes spoke more than she ever could. Himeko was moved.

"You shouldn't be telling me this, Chikane-chan," Himeko wept openly, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Why not?"

"Because if you continued to be so kind to me, I wouldn't be able to make myself stay away from you."

"Have you grown tired of my company?" the princess asked, fear worming back into her voice. "Or have I offended you in some way?"

"No, it's not that!" Himeko shook her head hastily. "I just don't want you to be harmed by the Orochi," she sobbed. "Mako-chan was injured because of me. I don't want the same thing happen to you!"

"Really?" A beautiful smile bloomed on the princess's face. "But I do not mind even if it is the case, Himeko."

"You don't understand, I..." Himeko said but was cut off when the other girl placed her finger on her lips. It felt so... soft and warm.

"It is you who do not understand," Chikane-chan laughed softly. "Even if you are not with me, there is no guarantee that I can be safe."

"Eh?" Himeko blinked.

"It seemed you had never wondered why the High Priest told the story to _both of us_," the Himemiya Ojou-sama smiled indulgently. "I also have a mark that just appeared on my back yesterday, Himeko. The High Priest called it the Moon Crest."

"Does that mean..." Himeko said, hope suddenly welled in her soul.

"Yes," Chikane-chan nodded. "I am one of the Priestesses of Kannazuki. I am the Priestess of the Moon."

"Then... then..." Himeko said but before she could find a way to finish, she had already thrown her arms around Chikane-chan's neck and wept into her bosom.

"Yes, I am your counterpart. I am your comrade," the Himemiya princess said while stroking Himeko's head gently. "I am someone who will fight by your side and keep you out of harm's way. There is no need for you to avoid me, at all. In fact..."

Chikane-chan stopped abruptly, her body tensed, her head turned toward the door of the locker room. There, a handsome and slender young man clad in a black suit suitable for any high-class party stood. Chills slithered down Himeko's spine. When did he arrive? Why didn't she hear anything?

"You are not what I expect, Priestesses," the man said, his voice ringing a bell in Himeko's head. Where had she heard him before?

"Who are you?" Chikane-chan said coldly as she and Himeko rose to their feet. The other girl stood in front of Himeko as though wanting to protect her.

"I am Girochi Tokiya, Orochi Third Head," Tokiya said, a mocking smile decorated his lips, a sword, the blade of which was shiny as any pond in summer, clutched in his hand.

Himeko gasped in horror. The man was one of the Eight Followers of the Dark God.

"What do you want with us?" the blue-haired princess demanded coldly.

"It is you I need," Tokiya chuckled, the tip of his sword pointing at the Himemiya Ojou-sama. "As for the Sun Priestess, she can go drown herself for all I care." Then it struck Himeko.

"I remember now," Himeko burst. "You're the one who's been whispering in my head the whole time! You were the one who told me to walk into the swimming pool!"

"What?" Chikane-chan stared at her for a second, and then fixed her gaze upon the Orochi.

"That is correct," the man nodded. "Thanks to little Suikyou here," he stroked the hilt of his sword almost lovingly. "I was able to give you a few... suggestions."

"You monster," Chikane-chan said, anger rising in her voice.

"Thank you," Tokiya laughed, seemingly pleased at the insult. "And to show my appreciation, I will demonstrate what this Water Blade of mine is capable of." As blue light flooded out from the shiny sword the man called Suikyou, darkness once again shattered Himeko's consciousness.

* * *

Tokiya laughed harder when he saw the Sun Priestess fall down upon the floor and lay flat on her stomach. What a weakling... She didn't even have the strength to resist Suikyou's mind-controlling power. Tokiya had always found this kind of girl quite revolting, fools who did not even deserve to live. That was why he never hesitated in giving her the subtle order to go drown herself in the swimming pool. Too bad she survived. She wouldn't be for much longer, of course. He was well aware that this went against the wish of the Lord Orochi, who ordered the Followers this very morning not to harm a hair on a Priestess's head, but if he could _suggest_ that the girl jump into the water again, it wouldn't be too much of a problem. After all, if it was she who committed suicide, the Lord couldn't really blame Tokiya for not following his command. 

Well, Tokiya would deal with the disgusting girl later, after he had done what he wanted with the Priestess of the Moon herself.

Himemiya Chikane, on her knees on the carpeted floor, was hugging herself and trembling. The girl was fighting Suikyou's powers with all she had. Tokiya smiled appreciatively. She was strong indeed. Just the type of girls that he liked. And it really helped that she was strikingly good-looking, one of the few precious gems that the human world had ever been able to produce.

"Stop that," Tokiya said, more and more of his powers flowing into Suikyou the Water Blade and ultimately ended up in the girl's mind. The Priestess went absolutely still at his command. Time to enjoy this.

"Strip," he said and smiled in satisfaction upon seeing the girl's hands moving toward the sash on her waist. His smile slid off his lips, however, when those delicate hands dropped to her sides... and when he sensed a presence of power behind his back.

"Who's there?" Tokiya spun around, swinging Suikyou in a broad arc. From the tip of the sword, a thin blade of water emerged, slashing at the wall he was facing. Without a slightest noise, a rectangle part of the wall collapsed outward and broke itself upon the ground. What it left behind was a hole large enough for four or five people to walk through at the same time.

Under the light of the moon, upon the surface of the calm swimming pool a dozen feet away from Tokiya, in a hagoromo white as falling snow, a woman stood. She was even more beautiful than the Priestess herself, with her silver hair falling in a straight stream all the way to her feet, with a face that would make any man look twice, with a pair of silver eyes no other woman on Earth had. Being the lecherous man he was, Tokiya would have approached her and attempted to make her kneel at his feet... had he not sensed the power surging within her. Fright wrecked his body. In the name of the Lord, he had never seen someone so strong! Were all the Followers to combine their strength together, they would still be as weak as a child compared to the woman.

"You chose the worst person to pick on, Girochi Tokiya," the Priestess of the Moon spoke behind him, her voice no longer what it used to be. It was icy, it was calm and collected, it was contemptuous, and it was powerful! The girl was on her feet now, looking at him with her shining sapphire eyes. "For that, you shall pay," Himemiya Chikane continued, speaking at the same time that the lips of the silver-haired woman moved. He suddenly understood. The woman was controlling her.

Himemiya Chikane's hand rose so quickly that before Tokiya had time to react, her palm was already erected in front of his chest. An invisible wave struck him and hurled him all the way to the edge of the pool. When his back slammed upon the concrete ground, he felt as though every bone in his body had been shattered to pieces.

"Pitiful creature of the dark," the Priestess of the Moon, towering over him, said in disgust. She was clad only in a bathrobe, but she still looked a queen on her best day. The young girl lifted her hand again... except that this time, Tokiya didn't think she would let him live.

Reacting at the speed of lightning, he ground Suikyou's tip onto the ground, used it as a lever to rise to his feet, and lunged himself at the silver-haired woman. She was the puppet master... she needed to be eliminated first. Yet, he missed. The woman never twitched a muscle that Tokiya could see, but her body glided away from him so fast that in a blink of an eye, she was already at the other end of the pool while he still suspended in the air, his sword dashing forward. Frighteningly, although the woman's feet rest entirely on the water, she didn't make a smallest ripple. Tokiya was shocked. With Suikyou's power, he, too, could walk any water surface but such swift movement was beyond him.

His second shock came when Himemiya Chikane appeared right where the woman stood. Since he never wanted to kill her, he tried to withdraw the sword. He was too late, for the girl's index and middle finger had already clamped upon either side of Suikyou's blade. The third shock all but destroyed his confidence the very moment he realized not only was he unable to move his Sword, he neither could the rest of his body.

"Fool," the Priestess said again in her eerie voice. "Even the complete Suikyou could never harm my sleeve, much less half of it. You overestimate yourself by a thousand times, little shadow of the Orochi Third Head."

Tokiya was dumbfounded. The women knew that what he was wielding was just one half of the true Suikyou the Water Blade, and he but a mirror image of the real Orochi Third Head. She was aware that Suikyou possessed the power to control water, the human mind, and the ability to make a copy of anything on Earth, including its own self and master. Which was exactly what he had made it do. Tokiya wanted to kill the Seventh Head to avenge his Aneki's humiliating defeat but he was afraid of Raien. Well, he did not exactly fear the destructive power of the Lightning Blade – his Suikyou was strong enough to protect him – but Raien's horrifying Voice of Sorrowwhich was able to suppress any magical forces within its range.

Coming into contact with Raien meant all of Suikyou's powers sealed off and himself weakened considerably. Yet, there was something he could take advantage of. Unknown to others, he had witnessed the fight between his Aneki Miyako and Oogami just to notice that the boy was but an ignorant lout who completely depended on Raien's awesome power to do his bidding. Unlike Tokiya, who had mastered the skills of the sword, Oogami could barely keep the blade from stabbing his own foot! That was why Tokiya invoked Suikyou's Mirror Reflection to divide himself into two halves, one contained all his swordsman's skills and the other his magical powers. He was confident that with the swordsmanship alone, he could kill Oogami and claimed Raien for his Aneki while his other self finished off the Priestesses, thus eliminating the Lord's one and only threat. It was a foolproof plan, he knew it was, but he made one major miscalculation. Who could have thought the girl had such a powerful ally?

"Consider this a lesson, Follower." The Priestess's vacant hand rose one last time and placed itself on Tokiya's head. "May you never find peace in your death." Silver aura blazed.

_"Heart of the One True Moon,"_ the girl whispered, and a pillar of light broke every of his particles apart. He wouldn't die when his other half still lived. The time would come when he made his revenge. Surely...

* * *

Quietly, Yue put little Chikane and Himeko back into the position they were in before the little worm of the Orochi showed himself. With a flicker of her hand, the moonlight materialized into the rectangle opening on the wall and made it whole once more. 

"Farewell, dearest children of mine," Yue murmured to the unconscious girls, kissing each of them slightly on their cheeks. Then she put her hands on their foreheads and erased any bit of memory concerning the Orochi Third Head. The despicable insect would not be able to bother the two girls with his mind-control trick now that Yue had placed a little barrier in their souls. Yes, they were now safe...

* * *

... 

"Then... then..." Himeko said but before she could find a way to finish, she had already thrown her arms around Chikane-chan's neck and wept into her bosom.

"Yes, I am your counter part. I am your comrade," the Himemiya princess said while stroking Himeko's head gently. "I am someone who will fight by your side and keep you out of harm's way. There is no need for you to avoid me, at all. In fact, I would like you to come live with me from now on."

"Live with you?" Himeko said, looking at the one she loved, her breath uneven from all the crying.

"Yes," the blue-haired girl smiled at her tenderly. "You have nowhere to go, so why not my house?"

"I thought Oogami-sensei wanted to keep me in Shingetsu, didn't he?"

"He does not have any say in this," Chikane-chan laughed quietly, hand combing through the fountain of Himeko's hair. The satisfied twinkling in the princess's eyes gave Himeko the impression that the other girl had succeeded in bending the High Priest to her will. Oogami-sensei wouldn't have been very pleased at this, she guessed.

"You are so quiet, Himeko," Chikane-chan said. "Are you unhappy about moving in with me?"

"No, I'm just too happy to say anything, Chikane-chan," Himeko murmured, burying her head in the princess's chest. To live with the one she loved, to see her anytime Himeko wanted to, to go to school with her every morning... It was like a dream come true.

"Good," the other girl laughed softly.

Several minutes later, Chikane-chan's chauffer arrived at the swimming pool with new clothes for them to change into. Himeko was a little disappointed, for she had to leave the princess's embrace, but when she found herself sitting next to the blue-haired girl in the limousine, nothing but bliss remained in her head. She had a new home now, where she hoped she could spend the rest of her days with the one she loved.

* * *

Standing on top of the small building, Oogami Souma watched as Himemiya and Himeko got into the car. _Chikane-chan? Himeko?_ he thought wonderingly. Those two never addressed each other like that in school before. They were all Miya-sama this and Kurusugawa-san that as far as he could remember. Besides, he did not think he saw them together more than once. 

In any case, Himemiya's fan girls would go haywire once they learned their Miya-sama was this intimate with someone not from their own crowd. Well, Souma felt the same way, although for a much different reason. Their relationship seemed _out of place_, he could sense something wrong with it. They looked the best of friends but there was something much more than that. Upon acquiring Orochi's power, he had become more sensitive to humans' emotion than anyone ever could. He could tell when someone was angry or happy or sad even if their faces were carved from rocks. And what he sensed from Himemiya Chikane and Himeko was... disturbing.

Well, he would deal with that eventually, just like what he did with the bastard Girochi. There was one thing Souma could not deny, though. The man was too good with his sword. When Souma lured Girochi out of the Grand Shrine and into the forest, he had thought it was an easy fight. Wrong. It was dangerous because Souma had been forced to defend himself most of the time. He didn't even have time to wield Raien's powers. Every strike Girochi made connected with the next into one continuous flow, aiming for Souma's vital spots. It was like standing beneath a waterfall, actually, with water thundering down from overhead. Every time the blades met, sparks flew and Souma's arms suffered an aftershock strong enough to blow his sword away had he not gripped it with all his strength. There was one time when he managed a counterattack and pushed Girochi back. At that moment, he unleashed Raien's powers and tried to kill the bastard but the man dodged it easily. That attack cleared out a large area of the forest and destroyed the power lines leading to the City just for nothing. After that, Girochi resumed his onslaught. Eventually Souma realized it was a fight he could not win.

When he was about to let go of Raien because his hands were numb from all the attacks, something unexpected happened. Girochi suddenly coughed off a lot of blood as his sword broke into two. The man fell to the ground and lay there, thrashing in pain. Seizing the opportunity, Souma once again tapped into Raien's lightning power and burned the bastard to dust.

After the fight, Souma used Raien to traverse space to hurry toward the Priestesses. It was another gift he was bestowed upon, sensing the presences of the Priestesses of Kannazuki. If the Orochi had made his move, only the Gods knew what they could have done to the girls when Souma was busy. Nothing happened to them, though. Actually, he thought something _did_ between them, but Souma was too late to learn what.

Looking at the departing car, Souma tapped his lips thoughtfully. It could be troublesome, now that Himemiya had invited Himeko to live with her, troublesome for Souma, obviously. From what he could make out after reading their emotions, Himemiya had a lot of hidden feelings for Himeko, as did the girl he liked. _Troubling, indeed,_ Souma thought as he opened a Dimensional Portal leading him back to Shingetsu. He froze a second before he stepped into the thing, though, for his enhanced eyesight caught a small object sparkling beneath an oak tree about a hundred feet away. At a flicker of his sword, the thing lifted from the earth and flew into his hand. It was a pretty present box gift-wrapped carefully in silver foil. More, on its top, there was a note that read, _"Happy Birthday, Chikane-chan"_. A cold hand gripped his heart once he used his power to learn what was inside the thing.

* * *

As the Orochi boy walked into the Dimensional Portal, face aghast, Yue, whose back was leaning against another oak tree near the pool, taps her lips thoughtfully. A turn of event she did not foresee. The boy seemed to follow the path of the Light now, only that he never did it for the sake of the world. He did what he did because of Himeko. What would happen if in the end he could not have what he had been fighting for? No matter, he did not pose that great a threat to the girls when they got each other's back. The cogs of fate had already begun to turn, grinding everything in its path. She had done everything in her power to stop what would come to pass but whether the tragedy would repeat itself or not really depended on the two poor girls themselves. Sometimes she wondered how reality could be so cruel... 

"And here I am, thinking you would never break a single rule, let alone the most important one Law of Heaven, Yue-chan," Yui said, seemingly materializing out of thin air. Under the silvery light of the moon, she seemed as glorious as the sun itself. "You're aware father would not be pleased should he know you intervened, aren't you?"

"That does not count," Yue said coldly, not bothering to spare the resplendent woman a look. "Ao... I mean, Chikane was the person who chased that little insect away, not me."

"You think father wouldn't know that you were pulling her strings the whole time?" Yui laughed quietly.

"How about you?" Yue rounded on the other woman, her voice would do an ice cube proud. "You revealed yourself in a crowd of _mortals_ to show Chikane the way, then erased their memory. You are no better than I am."

"Oh, something like that happened?" Yui said, feigning ignorance. "Why didn't I remember?"

When Yue was ready to say something scathing to the golden-haired woman, she stopped short. A Dimensional Portal opened several feet away from both of them, from which emerged a man in a white cape whose sleeves were decorated with a golden pentagram at the wrists. A Holy Messenger.

"I beg your pardon, Yui-sama, Yue-sama," The man bowed to them. Yue almost gnashed her teeth. Those irritating people somehow managed to find her wherever she went and did their best to see that she never had a moment's peace. "The Lord wished to see you. He is not pleased right now, so I suggest you come with me in haste." Shivers slid down Yue's back. How did father learn of this so quickly?

"Let's go, Yue-chan. You don't want to make Father wait, do you?" Yui said, striding toward the Portal but before she entered, she added. "But I see that you never stop disliking me after these years." The woman vanished into the gate, a smile decorating her lips.

_You have _no idea_, Yui,_ Yue thought.


	4. Eternally yours

_**EPISODE THREE: ETERNALLY YOURS.**_

* * *

A dry, crackled sound responded to Yue as her soft footfall descended upon the rough surface of the Moon. There were no signs of life in sight. Only the stench of death and destruction haunted the place that used to be the most wondrous in the entire Creation Realm. Where the endless flower fields used to stretch to the distant horizon now was covered with cracks that tore the ground apart. Only the bedrocks were left where the pure and clean Moon Streams once ran to irrigate the Land of Eternal Light. Who would believe it was once Yue's beautiful sanctuary of old? 

Yue stopped in front of the Lunar Shrine, or rather what remained of it. The Torii Archway had been broken, the whole Shrine reduced to heaps of burnt wood and darkened stones. The roof, tiled with gold and silver was now beyond recognition. The Lunar Shrine, home to the two Kannazuki Priestesses, shelter to the one hope of humankind, had been completely destroyed. The wonderful memories the children made in this place and the feelings they shared were forever lost. They loved one another so much, yet the peaceful ending they wished for never came. Reality was cruel, destiny merciless. Yue had thought she could do anything with her powers. She had believed although herself was helpless against fate, she could at least protect them from its grasp. How overly confident she was. How foolish she was.

"Why the sad face, Yue-chan?" Yui's voice murmured as she hugged Yue from behind.

Not saying a word, Yue invoked her celestial powers. Beneath her feet, a large symbol in the shape of the Moon Crest appeared and started revolving. Around her, silver aura whirled and howled with the voices of a thousand wolves. In her right hand, an orb of light emerged and grew until it was the size of what mortals called a basket ball. Then she lifted her hand and moved it toward her left shoulder, exactly where Yui's head was. Yue released the orb.

In a thunderous roar, a beam of light shot from Yue's hand at the same time that Yui's pressure upon her body vanished. Somewhere very far behind her, the spell slammed upon the dry ground of the Moon and exploded, sending successive heat waves against her back as though they wanted to blast her away. Yet, Yue held her ground even more firmly than an ancient tree did its. For someone of her caliber, this was hardly worthy of notice.

"You know," Yui said as she stood smiling in front of Yue, "had I reacted a second late, I would have been dead." The woman made a show of brushing the dusts off of the white, one-piece dress and the long white cloak that hid every inch of her skin below her neck. Well, they both know that there was not a single peck on her clothes. After all, Yui was _the_ famous hygiene maniac who warded herself with so many dust-repelling barriers that the end of the world would come before anything unclean could get within ten feet of her.

"That would remind you what could happen when you touch me," Yue said coolly. "Next time you do that..." Yue let the unsaid threat whisper in the air of the silent night. Yui was no fool. She should be able to get the message.

"Oh come on," Yui laughed. "Who has ever heard of someone who gets her head blown off just because she hugs her cute little sister?"

The silver aura wreathing Yue's body gathered into her hand. Once again, she struck. Only this time, no warnings came. Had she moved her hand to the right just a fraction of an inch, the second beam of light she cast would have blown off an arm of the woman, not safely passing her by without even touching her cloak. Still, Yui appeared unruffled. She didn't even seem to _register _the fact that Yue could have crippled her.

"Have I not made it clear enough that you are no sister of mine?" Yue said, her gaze a dagger, her voice ice.

"Yes, I have forgotten that although a silly oath binds us as siblings, you despise me more than anyone ever lives," Yui chuckled. If anything, the woman only looked happier than ever.

Yue suppressed a flash of rage. _"Silly"_ barely described the viciousness of that oath. Her Father knew better than anyone else Yue did not want to be Yui's sister – he was well aware of the reason why, too – yet... he never faltered when proclaiming that he was going to adopt Yue into his family and forge between her and Yui a bond stronger than any ties of blood. Sometimes, Yue could not tell whether her Father was grateful toward her or he just wanted to make her life miserable. Probably the latter... But then, Yue never had a choice. It was either submitting to the man's will or going back to where she was born and suffered until she drew her last breath.

"If you are aware, leave," Yue muttered. "I prefer to be by myself."

"It would be heartless of me to do so, Yue-chan," the other woman said gently. It seemed that had she not known that Yue would kill her at even a hint of body contact, she would have attempted to pat Yue on the shoulder like any older sister. "You look so unhappy after the audience with Father. How could I let you brood without trying to comfort you?"

"I broke the Law," Yue said irritably, "I was lucky to get away with only a few firm words from Father."

"You shouldn't say that," Yui smiled softly at her. "They were once your children. It is only logical that you care for their safety. Father should never have made a big deal out of it."

"Enough," Yue snapped, turning away. The other woman spoke truth... but that did not mean Yue was going to agree with her. For crying out loud, all she had been doing for the better part of her life was showing Yui that the only thing the woman could get out of Yue was hate.

"Where are you going?"

"A place where you cannot bother me," she replied scathingly. The woman gave no outward sign that she was offended, but a shadow of sadness stole across her beautiful face.

"Bother you," Yui said slowly as though tasting the words in her mouth. "I can recall the time when you always seemed happy talking to me, when you always laughed at my jokes. Now, you are at my throat whenever you find an opportunity. What happened to my sweet little Yue-chan?"

"She changed for the better," Yue said, weaving a Dimensional Portal leading back to the City. "I suggest you do, too." She stepped into the thing and vanished.

* * *

"Changed for the better," Yui murmured after a sigh. She didn't believe that, not after what Yue had done to her when they were young and ignorant of the world. Too bad the girl had always been close-mouthed when Yui tried to ask her how she had offended her. If Yue continued to act hostile toward her so, perhaps she would be dead before she could learn the truth. 

_Oh well, _Yui thought in exasperation. Yue's attitude... upset her no end but she didn't really have time to worry about the girl now.

Yui raised her hand and faced its palm toward the broken Lunar Shrine. From her fair skin, a small crystal brooch in the shape of the Sun Crest emerged, floating and glowing brilliantly as though a real star under the dark heavens. She didn't really have to make this to enter, of course, but she had never been comfortable when the Thirteen Seals and the Core Sphere of the Dimensional Prison wrapped themselves around her in attempts of verification just so they could allow her access. Now that she had this little device here, she wouldn't be bothered anymore.

The invisible Thirteen Seals and their precious Core Sphere began to react upon the emergence of the crystal Sun Crest. In a flash of golden light, they swallowed her and spit her into a small tatami room in a chair of which her little brother Akira sat, his eyes staring at the fake scenery beyond the opened shoji doors. Yui sighed. Akira's sitting position had changed, which meant he had awakened when she wasn't here, which was also what she suspected. The sigh deepened.

Yui walked to where Akira sat and hugged him.

"How are you, little brother?" she murmured.

* * *

"Target located," reported one of Yuusaku's subordinates, "but we have no visual feed. She just entered Ame no Murakumo's Seal Chamber." 

Yuusaku blinked, puzzled. Why would the woman visit the Seal Chamber anyway? The Sword God was no different from a corpse, except that he was still breathing. What could she possibly want with a man who could not even bat his eyelids? Well, the prisoner was her little brother... but he was also the reason why she had been living a life so tormenting anyone else would have preferred death. Were Yuusaku in the woman's situation, he would not hesitate in going for Ame no Murakumo's throat, really. He guessed that meant the woman was planning something with her little brother, then.

"Wait for her to come out," Yuusaku commanded. "Prepare a whole squad of Messengers this time. You must not let her get away, need I make myself clearer?"

"Yes, sir. No, sir," the Messengers in the Headquarters answered in unison.

Yuusaku sighed, however. He seriously doubted that his subordinates could keep tab on the woman for long. She was like a drop of quicksilver, seemingly able to slip out of the cracks of their hands regardless of how tightly they clenched their fists. She made his task all but impossible.

_What exactly are you trying to do, woman?_ Yuusaku thought angrily.

* * *

"Uh whoa," Himeko exclaimed the moment she stepped past the door, and Himemiya Chikane smiled softly to herself. In blessed silence, she watched the little angel feast her eyes upon the grandeur of the room prepared for her in the Himemiya Mansion. Surprise and wonder dawned on the golden-haired girl's face, basking it in a delighted glow that made her seem more beautiful than ever. After Chikane had settled herself onto the large king-sized bed placed in the middle of the spacious room, worthy of being called a presidential suite in any first-class hotel, she continued her study of her beloved Himeko, who was flitting about just every corner to learn what was what. The girl widened her eyes when she saw the fifty-two-inch Plasma TV hung upon a wall that stood opposite her bed, she gasped when she opened a small door and saw her own private bathroom, and she beamed brightly at the desktop personal computer equipped with a lightning-fast Internet connection. Chikane felt her heart pulse quicken. The girl just looked... so cute. 

"Do you like this room," Chikane inquired, smiling, "or would you prefer another? I highly recommend the one on the East wing, for it has a great view on the back garden."

"Which is closer to yours, Chikane-chan?" the little angel asked, and Chikane blinked in surprise.

"I would say this one," she answered slowly. "Why?"

"I was just being lazy," the golden-haired girl laughed, spots of color blooming faintly on her face. "The closer you are to me, the less I have to walk when I want to see you." The color deepened, staining her cheeks red. Strangely enough, Chikane was under the impression that it was not the only reason. It was only then did she notice Himeko's caressing tone when she said _when I want to see you_. Her heart started to flutter. Now that had a nice sound to it...

"I see," Chikane said, managing a smile.

"Ne, ne, Chikane-chan," Himeko tugged at Chikane's sleeve once she had settled down next to her on the bed.

"What is it?" she turned toward the golden-haired girl, fully aware that not even a hand separated their shoulders. Himeko had forgotten about the incident in the locker room just about an hour ago, it would seem. Chikane's face heated up. She could not... and probably would not. She still remembered the silkiness of the other girl's skin, the softness of her body, the fragrant scent of her breath when Chikane hugged her so she could keep her warm. Chikane suppressed the desire to throw her arms around the little angel and hug her again.

"Are you sure I can stay here?" the golden-haired girl said. It looked like she preferred this room to the one on the East wing after all. "Would your parents allow a complete stranger to live in their house?"

"Who is the complete stranger?" Chikane laughed quietly. "You are my friend, and that makes you a member of the Himemiya family, therefore you are guaranteed a warm shelter whenever you need it. I doubt my parents would say otherwise."

"A member of the family," Himeko repeated, face redder than ever.

"Yes," Chikane nodded and patted Himeko on her shoulder, "so make yourself at home, ne." The girl had not had a decent family ever since her parents passed away. If Chikane could make the little angel one, she would.

The golden-haired girl only looked at Chikane, eyes shining with tears that threatened to roll down her cheeks. A moment later, Himeko used her sleeves to dab at her face while murmuring a thank-you. Chikane shifted uncomfortably on the bed. It was truly torturous to watch the little angel crying without attempting to pull her into an embrace and trying to comfort her. Well, perhaps it was the proper thing to do in this kind of situation but Chikane did not dare. Only the Gods would know what she might do once she had Himeko in her arms... again.

"Himeko," she called while slipping a hand into her pocket. Before they came into this room, Chikane had had the chance to get back to hers briefly and take what she needed. "Hold out your hand."

The little angel looked at Chikane curiously, yet she complied afterwards and extended her small, pretty hand.

"It is already past but," Chikane said with a smile, putting a small box gift-wrapped carefully upon the other girl's palm, "Happy seventeenth birthday."

The golden-haired girl stared at Chikane, looking as though she was on the verge of tears again.

"I'm sorry, Chikane-chan," Himeko muttered, holding the present with both of her hands the way she would a fragile egg.

"For what?" Chikane blinked.

"I... had a birthday present for you, too," the little anger said, her eyes lowered, her voice a wreck of pain and guilt. "But I lost it."

"Ah," Chikane said after a second, and then she laughed quietly as her hand moved to ruffle the girl's head. "That is nothing to worry about, silly Himeko." The little angel looked up at her, her mouth dropped open in what seemed very close to shock. "What, you think I would be unhappy because you did not give me a present?" Chikane added.

"Uh..."

"It is your kind thoughts I treasure, not the things you give, you know" Chikane said, combing her fingers through Himeko's tresses of fine golden hair. "I am overjoyed just because of the fact that you want to offer me a present. So thank you, my dearest friend."

"You're so kind," Himeko murmured. Chikane though that she should steer the conversation in a different direction. The little angel did not have any flaws except for the fact that she cried so easily. And when she did, it was as if Chikane's world had been robbed of the light.

"Open the present, Himeko," Chikane smiled at her.

The next several minutes were spent in silence as Himeko carefully removed the wrapping around the box. Chikane watched in great amusement. It would seem that the girl could not even force herself to make a scratch on the silver foil, much less tearing it apart. The little angel's breath caught, however, when she got to the box within and opened it.

"It is so beautiful, Chikane-chan," she said, staring in astonishment at the ruby ring held between her fingers. "I love it!"

"I am very happy that you do," Chikane laughed quietly, awfully conscious of the fact that Himeko was putting the thing around the ring finger of her left hand. It was just where Chikane wanted.

"Thank you, Chikane-chan," the little angel wrapped her arms around Chikane's neck and gave her a hug that would probably melt any amount of ice. When Himeko withdrew her slender form, Chikane found herself wanting to pull her back into the embrace and kiss her for all she was worth. She never relinquished herself to that desire, of course, no matter how much she wished to.

"Ne, Himeko," Chikane tapped the girl on her shoulder. "What did you get for me? I am curious."

Himeko gave a slight start at the question, color once more creeping onto her cheeks.

"It was a..." she swallowed uncomfortably, "sapphire ring."

Chikane mulled every word of that sentence over and over in her head, honey welling up in her soul. Had Himeko been able to retain her present, they would have been exchanging rings right at this moment. She wondered what that would look like... An engagement, perhaps?

"Chikane-chan?" Himeko's voice jerked Chikane back to reality. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Chikane replied. "I was just thinking how much I would like to have that ring." It was the truth, yet it was also the wrong thing to say to Himeko, who had lost the present she wanted to give. The girl, seemingly extremely crestfallen, stooped on the bed.

"I'd love you to have it, too," the little angel murmured with a sad voice.

"Do not think too much about it, Himeko," Chikane said hastily.

"I would go buy you the same thing again," the golden-haired girl said, appearing oblivious of what Chikane said. "It's just that they said they discontinued that series already."

"Himeko, I..." Chikane began in exasperation but she stopped short when the girl turned to her with the most brilliant smile on her lips.

"How about this, Chikane-chan," Himeko said. "Tell me what you like. I'll buy it to make it up to you."

"I said you do not have to, did I not?" Chikane sighed.

"But I want to give you something because it's the first birthday I ever spent with you," the little angel insisted. "So, please?"

At first, Chikane still wanted to say _No_ but a glance at the pleading expression on the angel's face disabused her of the intention. She had seen it before, when they first met, almost in the same situation. She sighed. Chikane doubted she could refuse Himeko anything once she had worn that kind of look. Had the girl asked for a star in the heavens, Chikane would have tried to pluck it. Had she asked for the moon in water, Chikane would have dived in and tried her best to get it for her whether she could get out alive or not.

"Very well," Chikane agreed.

"Great!" Himeko beamed brightly at her. "What would you like?"

Thoughts whirled in Chikane's head. What should she say? She could not ask for something expensive, as Himeko's financial situation would not allow. On the other hand, the other girl would not believed her should Chikane tell her she wanted something cheap. Was there something Chikane would like which Himeko could give without paying a penny? Heat bloomed in her cheeks. There _was_. And she bet she could get it without ever letting the little angel be aware of her real intention, too.

"I can ask for _any_ present, ne?" Chikane asked.

"Yes," the little angel said, her smile becoming more and more radiant. "I promised." She seemed happy that Chikane had acceded to her request.

"Then how about a little kiss, Himeko?" Chikane said, watching shock rippled across the other girl's face. Then she added, "on the cheek."

"I shouldn't..." the golden-haired girl muttered after a moment of silence, then stopped abruptly, cheeks growing redder by the minute.

"Why not?" Chikane smiled. "My parents always give me kisses on my birthdays."

"Really?" Himeko said.

"Yes," Chikane nodded.

"Okay," Himeko muttered as she rose to her feet and stood in front of Chikane, who was still sitting on the bed. Then the girl laid her hands upon the underside of Chikane's face, her body leaning closer, her fragrant scent suffusing the air Chikane breathed. It was... intoxicating.

The peck of lips Himeko bestowed on Chikane's forehead was rather unexpected and dissatisfying. It was light, it was quick, it was like a fresh breeze in spring that was already gone when one could feel its touch. The disappointment in Chikane's heart melted away, though, as Himeko kissed her again on her left cheek. The second kiss was a second longer than the first, allowing Chikane enough time to feel the softness of the moist lips of the little angel. By the time the golden-haired girl drew herself away, Chikane thought that she had been given the best present in the world. Her heart leapt up into her throat when Himeko put her arms around Chikane's neck and kissed her one last time on the right cheek. For five blessedly long seconds the kiss lasted, making Chikane felt as though her blood was wine. Bliss washed over in waves, threatening to drown her forever. When she could get back to reality, Himeko was already sitting next to her again, face the very picture of the setting sun. A girl kissing another girl was not exactly unheard of... yet it was by no means things one saw out of the ordinary.

Silence stretched as Chikane stared at Himeko, who had taken up a serious study of the carpet. The girl tripled the amount of what Chikane asked for. What would have happened had Chikane wanted a kiss on the lips?

"Himeko, I..." she began, laying her hand on the girl's shoulder. Then she stopped. _I love you, _she had meant to say, yet she could not force herself to. She had thought it easy just to make her confession. She had thought perhaps Himeko would take no time to whisper the same words back into her ears. She was not so sure now that she realized the truth could either deepen or shatter their relationship. It was all well if Himeko did what she hoped the girl would... but what if she did not? Chikane would never see the one she loved ever again, for sure. Chikane sighed. Maybe she should wait for another while and try to learn what lay in the angel's heart before making her own feelings known. "Thank you," she said. At least Himeko was not going anywhere anytime soon.

"You're welcome," the golden-haired girl muttered, still looking at the ground at her feet.

"Well, it is rather late already," Chikane commented in an effort to break the awkward silence. It was indeed late, for the two hands of the grandfather clock in the room were both pointing at the tenth mark. "You should rest, Himeko. I shall see you tomorrow in the dining hall, at breakfast." She rose gracefully from the bed, dimly aware of the wobbliness of her knees. The whole situation still felt unreal to her, somehow. On her seventeenth birthday, she learned of the Orochi Followers' devastating power. The day after, she was told she held even a greater, one enough to save the world. On the very same day, her secret crush moved in with her and gave her three kisses for a birthday present. The Gods seemed to be working her life in mysterious ways. In any event, though, if they could make Himeko her girlfriend someday, she would not mind one bit.

"Goodnight, Chikane-chan," the little angel said, waving her hand and smiling faintly.

"Goodnight, Himeko." The door closed behind Chikane's back.

She treaded on the hallway the floor of which shone in the moonlight weaving through the glass windows, wondering if she would dream of Himeko tonight. She wished she would. But before she laid herself on her bed, though, she had something else to do. _The closer you are to me, the less I have to walk when I want to see you,_ the little angel's voice whispered in her head. After today, the golden-haired girl did not have to walk at all if she wanted to get to Chikane's door.

* * *

"You mean to tell me that _All_ of them had been taken away?" Oogami Kazuki directed his anger at the three men kneeling before him. "What are you, scarecrows or Protectors of the Swords?" He was born mild-mannered and kind but in this situation, even a rock would be furious at such useless imbeciles. He already had a hunch that whatever the envoys from the Council of Priests wanted with him so late in the evening, it could not be pleasant. Kazuki had never been more accurate in his life. 

"We beg for your forgiveness, Oogami-sama," all three bowed down so low their heads touched the wooden floor.

Kazuki paced the Grand Hall of Shingetsu but his anger refused to subside. All these years he had trusted that the Council would prevent anyone from getting near the Sealed Swords, all these years in which he paid with his own blood just to make sure the one they entrusted in Shingetsu Grand Shrine was secured. Now they told him the rest of the Elemental Blades had been stolen, one after another in one week's time and asked for forgiveness? Unbelievable!

"You, Saiki, you're the leader, give me a report!"

"Yes, Oogami-sama," the man in the middle said. He was heavily built yet he always spoke as if he was out of breath. "Seven days ago, intruders got passed the surveillance of the Mitsumine Shrine in Saitama, the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo and Mount Koya. From the records, there were neither signs of break-in nor struggle with the local Protectors. They only noticed that the Sealed Swords was gone on the next day when they went for their daily checkups. Before the Councils could dispatch Messengers to warn the others, we received the information that the same incident had happened to Ise Shrine."

The Wind Blade from Yasukuni, Water from Mitsumine, Earth from Mount Kouya and Ice from Ise, they were all gone. Kazuki suddenly had an urge to kick something. No signs of break-in or struggle! In other words, the foolish Protectors lost without putting up a scrap of a fight!

"What happened to the Sumeragi Clan in Kyoto?"

"Apparently they were assaulted in the dead of night, Oogami-sama," Saiki said. "All four of the stolen Elemental Blades appeared in Kyoto and were used to defeat the Onmyouji. They fought valiantly but against the Swords, they stood no chance. The Onmyouji were heavily wounded, some lost their lives. In the end, the Star Blade and the Twilight Blade were taken from the Seals."

The Sumeragi had been defeated. The most dangerous of the Elemental Blade had been retrieved by the Orochi Followers. It had to be them, no one else would have enough power to infiltrate the Shrines and devastate the Sumeragi like this. They didn't raise much noise in the Shrines not because they were weak. It was just that they were saving their strength for the final battle with the Onmyouji, strongest of the Protectors of the Swords. The Followers must have known then that there could be no easy way to take the weapons away from the Sumeragi.

"You didn't mention the Fire Blade. Where _is_ Rekkyou?"

This time, Yuuji, the man to Saiki's left, replied apprehensively:

"Oogami-sama, one of the Onmyouji was in time to get Rekkyou and run away from Kyoto. But..."

_"But what?"_ Kazuki snapped.

"His body was found this morning, Oogami-sama, without the Sword," the last man of the trio Messengers, Furin, said as he avoided Kazuki's gaze. And he seemed relieved that Kazuki did not explode on him. Kazuki wouldn't, for his anger had already turned murderously ice-cold.

"Oogami-sama, we were under the impression that the Followers struck here too. Are the remaining weapons safe?" Saiki asked, a gleam of hope shining in his eyes.

"They are, all _three_ of them," Kazuki said curtly. Thanks to the two girls, Raien had no chance to reunite with its brothers in Orochi's hands. Thanks to the Priestesses' holy light, Souma's demonic rage was suppressed, thus denying the Followers the access to the most important treasure in the world.

"Thank the Gods," the three men murmured.

So, only Raien was left untouched. Sooner or later, they would come to reclaim it for sure. And if all seven Swords were to appear here... The mere possibility horrified Kazuki. Should that come to pass, the future of mankind wasn't so bright. There was but one solution to this problem. He had to bring the Priestesses here and have them awaken the Eyes of Heaven as soon as possible. Without those, there was simply no way he could stop the other Followers from reclaiming Raien and destroying the hope of the Human World.

"You three, go back to Headquarters and inform the Council that I need the strongest Protectors gathered here in Mahoroba," Kazuki issued the order. They might not be of much help but in case something bad happened, he would still have enough manpower to protect the people of the City. "And not _a word _to the Priestesses should you see them, am I clear?" The girls would be burdened as it was when he told them of his intentions tomorrow, they did not need any more worries. At least, not yet.

"As you command, Oogami-sama," they spoke in unison.

* * *

Sitting on the bed, Girochi Miyako gently stroked the blade of Rekkyouthe Fire Blade. It was a beauty, a shiny double-edged sword with the carvings of the ancient runes. Better yet, Rekkyou was stronger than what she expected. With the Sealed Sword in her hand, she had grown more powerful than most humans on Earth. Right after Rekkyou came into her possession, it had astonished her with what it was capable of. One strike brought forth the flame of destruction upon Narita, incinerating everything caught in its clutches. A second completely annihilated the city, turning it into a flattened desert of black sand. It was beautiful how the golden flames rained down from the heavens, how they spread from one part of the city to another, how they burned the men and women to ashes. 

A flash of indignation rose in her. They began the attack on the Sumeragi in Kyoto a while ago with the intention of claiming the rest of the Sealed Swords. Unfortunately, a darned Onmyouji escaped with Rekkyou so Miyako was the only one left without a weapon in the entire team. Thanks to the bastard, she was powerless against Raien, against such a wimp like Oogami Souma. Had she had Rekkyou then... she still wouldn't have been able to do a thing, Miyako realized. Even with Rekkyou, she wasn't sure that she could win against the other Sealed Sword. After her shameful defeat, Tsubasa-sama had revealed to her that wanting to take down Oogami was truly foolish because Raien would automatically suppressed any being of powers and sealed off the magical weapons on sight. The Voice of Sorrowin the Lightning Blade was what prevented her flame spells from fazing the brat.

But it should be alright now that the Star Blade had returned to its rightful owner, Tsubasa-sama. However powerful Raien might be, it was no match for the Star Blade, especially when Tsubasa-sama wielded it. Her idol was strong, more so than anyone. There could be no chance that Oogami could escape Tsubasa-sama's wrath. The time would come soon, when they came to take back Raien and finish what their Lord started three thousand years ago.

Suddenly a loud _thud_ reached Miyako. It sounded as if someone just collapsed outside of her room.

"Ane... ki..." a weak voice called to her

It was her little brother's, Tokiya's.

Throwing Rekkyou aside, she ran to the door and became horrified when she opened it. The kid was laying there, blood gushing out incessantly from his mouth. His clothes were all torn, revealing his reddened skins underneath. A cold wrecked Miyako's body. If she did not act fast, he was going to die for sure!

Miyako scooped him into her arms and ran as if hell was on her heels. Girochi Tokiya was the only blood relative she had left in this cruel world, the only one she cared for aside from Tsubasa-sama, and as much as she would her idol. Since the downfall of the Girochi Clan, one of the greatest spiritualists ever walked the earth, in the Second World War, Miyako and Tokiya had been supporting one another just to survive until this day. Without her kid brother, Miyako couldn't have made it. That was why... that was why she couldn't, and wouldn't let anything happen to him, not when she had not breathed her last.

Miyako forced open the door to the Orochi Sixth Head's room. Hibiki Shizuku, who named herself Nekoko to honor her fanatical love for stray cats, was sitting on her couch reading some magazine.

"The Temple of the Dragons is not a place for you to rampage as you wish, I thought you knew, Second Head," the woman said without looking up. "And knock before entering, would you?"

"I don't care," Miyako almost shouted. "Tokiya is dying! I don't have time to worry about your damned door!"

"Tokiya? Third Head?" Nekoko put down the magazine and said. "How did he get hurt so badly?"

"I don't know! Do something. Help him, please!" Nekoko was a priceless ally not because she had strong Orochi powers. Everybody in the team knew full well the cat-fanatic was the weakest of them all. The only reason why the other Heads treated Nekoko with respect – which meant that they never bashed her or made fun of her when she was around – was her skill with healing, the ability to return life to a person nearing death. That was exactly why Miyako brought her little brother to see the woman although Miyako hated her to her guts. If Nekoko could save Tokiya, Miyako could even get down on her knees and beg.

Nekoko stood up and pointed at the couch, "Put him there."

Just after Miyako did what she was told to, Nekoko put her hand several inches above Tokiya's forehead. From the woman's palm, a green light emerged and focused itself on the boy. Suddenly, her brother's body convulsed in spasms, mouth coughing up blood all over his clothes and the couch. His eyes opened as wide as they could and his arms began to thrash around, almost knocking Nekoko's hand away.

_"What the hell are you doing?"_ Miyako screamed. She clamped her mouth shut a second later at a fierce glare from the other woman.

"Be quiet, Second Head, or I'll throw you out of here," Nekoko said coldly and turned to Tokiya. When she opened her mouth and spoke again, her voice was strangely collected. "Third Head, summon your Sword for me."

Her brother weakly raised his hand and mumbled, "Lord... of the... Seven... Seas. Come forth, Suikyou..."

Space in front of his palm rippled like the surface of a pond. Out of that surface, the Water Blade emerged, but no longer in one piece. Somewhere in the middle, the sword was snapped into two. Miyako gasped in horror. Nekoko merely widened her eyes in shock as she caught the two pieces in her hand and carefully examined it.

Moving nearer to Nekoko, Miyako took a closer look. And she was even more afraid, if that was possible. It was a very clean cut, very much so that when Nekoko put them together, the sword looked like it had never been broken. Miyako wasn't too knowledgeable about the nature of the Elemental Blades but what she did know was that breaking them were beyond anyone's power in this world, including the Orochi's. Even a Sealed Sword could not damage another one, she had been told. Then what could have?

"No wonder he was in so much pain although there were no mortal wounds on his body," Nekoko murmured. "This caused it."

"Speak so I can understand, Nekoko."

While the woman peered at her curiously as if thinking _What are you, stupid?_, what she said was different, "When the Blades were given to us, we made a contract with them, did we not?"

"Yes, and?" Miyako said impatiently.

"In order for us to wield their powers, we pledged our souls. In other words, the Swords had already become parts of us. Damaging them means damaging our own souls."

"Then Tokiya, he is..." Miyako felt a chill slithering down her spines.

"Worry not, he is okay. As long as we can fix the Sword, he would return to normal. Hey, you stand away from me for a bit. Yeah, there is good enough."

Green light emerged from Nekoko's body as she let go of the sword fragments. They stayed still in the air, though, where she left them. Placing her left hand on Tokiya's forehead, the other right above where the fragments joined, she said:

"I am going to borrow Third Head's powers to heal the Sword."

From her right hand, shining water poured out and formed a whole sphere trapping the Water Blade in the middle. Then all of a sudden, the water turned into blue light, quickly withdrawn into the sword and vanished. Miyako grasped the sword. It was whole once again and full of power. Looking at her kid brother, Miyako heaved a sigh of relief. Before, his face was white as if there was no blood. Now, a slight pink color began to cover his pale skin. He was no longer in any mortal danger.

"How do you feel, Tokiya?" Miyako gently brushed Tokiya's hair and asked while kneeling in front of the couch

"Fine, I guess," he gave a weak smile. "Sorry to have worried you, Aneki."

"Don't say that, idiot," she said with an assuring tone. After all, his life was one of the most important things to her. As long as he was safe, a little worry did not matter to her in the end.

"Third Head, who attacked you?" Nekoko said.

"Oogami Souma."

Rage bloomed in Miyako's heart. The bastard, _again_! Orochi Seventh Head or not, she hated him to his guts. It was his family the Oogami that drove her and her kid brother to the corner. Since the beginning of time, the Girochi and the Oogami Clans had always strived to serve the Immortals of the Heavens. Most of the times, it was the Girochi that paved their way with sweat and blood. But if so, why was the Oogami the only ones picked for guarding the Priestesses of the Lunar Shrine three thousand years ago? Devastated, her ancestors lived in disgrace and pain. Three millennia passed as the Girochi, once the most prominent in the world, slowly walked upon their path of destruction. The spiritualists began to leave the Clan and went to other places, turning her family Shrine into a place ruled by solitude and darkness. In the end, everything was lost in the flame of war and human's lust for powers.

Miyako and Tokiya had been living on the streets like beggars for most of their lives. They had been looked at with disgust and enmity by most of the bystanders. And it was all Oogami's fault! The moment Tsubasa-sama found them and recruited them into Orochi's ranks, she had sworn she would take revenge on the Oogami, no matter what it would take. Now that they had almost killed her brother, they had just piled sins upon sins. One day, she would raze Shingetsu Grand Shrine to the ground with Rekkyou, leaving none with even a corpse!

"Not him," Nekoko muttered. "True, the external wounds were caused by Raien's powers but we know that however strong Raien was, it could not break Suikyou."

"Then what, Nekoko?" Miyako demanded.

"Third Head, what did you do with the Water Blade?" ignoring Miyako, the woman concentrated her piercing gaze on Tokiya. "What did you _do_?"

"I used the Water Mirror spell to separate myself into two," Tokiya answered. "One of me went after Oogami, the other..." He shut up, face flushed. And Miyako knew.

"I have to do something about your lecherous nature, Tokiya. You came to see the Priestesses, didn't you?" Miyako groaned in exasperation. "Didn't the Lord _just_ order us to leave them alone this morning?"

"Well... I..." he stammered. There was nothing bad about her kid brother except that he liked girls too much for his own sake. One day, it would be the end of him.

"That made sense, now." Nekoko tapped her lips thoughtfully.

"What did?" Miyako asked.

"When I Healed Suikyou, I sensed the power of the Moon lingering upon the cut."

"Does that mean the Moon Priestess...?" Miyako couldn't believe it. She saw the girl the other day and honestly, she looked more like a blue-haired princess than someone powerful enough to snap Suikyou into two.

"Who knows?" Nekoko's lips curved upward mysteriously. The woman's smile was one of the things Miyako didn't like about her. It was mischievous, calculating, and somewhat dangerous, even for an Orochi. "And get out of my room, both of you. I have to change to go to work."

"Work?" Miyako said with utmost incredulity. "Don't tell me that flyspeck of a hospital is still of interest to you, Nekoko. Besides, it's midnight, woman!"

"None of your business, Second Head." Nekoko tied her long brown hair up with a pink ribbon. "And if you see me there, do address me as Doctor Hibiki, alright?"

"As you wish, Doctor," Miyako said mockingly as she carried her brother out of the room.

* * *

Nekoko smiled again after the Second Head slammed the door shut. She knew nothing, that woman who had more brawl than brain. Miyako had never been aware that Nekoko had found a treasure almost as precious as the Elemental Blades in the hospital she named _flyspeck_. Now what she had to do was taking it into her hands. Then she would finally have what she wished for. Nekoko laughed and laughed until tears leaked out from her eyes.

* * *

"Ojou-sama," Kisaragi Otoha began. "Do you still wish to go on with this?" 

Himemiya Chikane-sama, who stood a few feet away from Otoha in the room, turned toward her with a weighing look on her face. Then she once again focused her attention upon the interior.

"You are right," the princess murmured. "This room is certainly smaller than mine. I may not be able to transfer all of my belongings."

"It's not what I mean," Otoha said in exasperation.

"It is not?" Puzzlement touched the Himemiya young mistress's voice.

"Why do you want to move into this room anyway?" Otoha said, managing as much protest as she could into her words without overstepping her authority.

"Because Kurusugawa-san lives next door," Otoha's young mistress replied levelly. "She is new here, and knows none but me. I am sure my close company would help her grow used to life in the Mansion faster."

Otoha tried to not mutter under her breath. Ojou-sama was not telling the whole truth. Try as she might, she would never succeed in fooling someone who had watched her grow up. Otoha would never believe that the cold Himemiya Chikane-sama would treat a _friend_ so warmly when she rarely spoke a word to her servants unless out of great need.

Well, perhaps some would argue that Kurusugawa Himeko was the princess's best friend but Otoha would not buy any of that, either. If she were _just_ a friend, best friend even, Ojou-sama would not have covered her picture – encased in a crystal frame! – with a piece of silk cloth _every single time _Otoha went into her room for daily cleanup. Once, when the princess went out and forgot to lock the door like she always did, Otoha had had the chance to gain a glimpse of the mysterious person in the picture. How her jaw had dropped then, finding the face of a pretty girl instead of a boy she thought Chikane-sama had fallen for.

Not just that, even the way the Himemiya princess addressed _her friend _sounded suspicious. Well, she called the girl _Kurusugawa-san_, which was of course perfectly normal and appropriate, but Otoha, who had heard her calling people's names numerous times before, could notice more than just a caress in her young mistress's voice. In fact, it contained so much affection and sweetness that she would have thought Kurusugawa Himeko was...

_Her secret lover,_ Otoha finished the disturbing thought. The golden-haired girl probably _was_.

Otoha felt sharp thorns pricking her soul. Ever since she had come to this Mansion at a very young age, she had thought that she was Ojou-sama's friend, someone with whom the girl shared secrets. She had thought that she stood highest in the Himemiya princess's heart save her Father and Mother. Now she knew she was sadly delusional. Shockingly enough, perhaps even Himemiya Kyou-sama or Kimika-sama was below Kurusugawa Himeko in the young mistress's _beloved list_. That wasn't fair, really. Otoha had served Chikane-sama for almost forever. She should have been _the one_ instead of that golden-haired milksop.

Otoha gave a start. Now what was she thinking?

"It looks well enough to me," the Himemiya princess said after a while. "There is no need to remodel it. I shall move in here tomorrow."

"But, Ojou-sama," Otoha said, her voice taking on somewhat of a beseeching tone. She never had the chance to speak another word, however, for the princess had ridden right over her.

"I will expect all my belongings to be here by tomorrow's evening, Otoha-san," Chikane-sama said quietly, yet the finality note in her voice was as loud as thunder. She expected to be obeyed without a single word of protest whenever she did that. "You have my thanks."

"It shall be as you wish, Ojou-sama," Otoha said, head deeply inclined. There was nothing else she could do.

It was then that she heard a scream from the next door... in Kurusugawa Himeko's voice.

Ojou-sama was a wonder to look at the way panic destroyed the unruffled serenity she wore as often as she did clothes, the way her complexion went white as a blank paper sheet, the way she broke toward the door and almost unhinged it on her way out.

Placidly, Otoha followed her young mistress, wishing with all her heart that a burglar had snuck into Kurusugawa's room somehow and strangled her. She was deeply disappointed when she arrived next door, though, for there she saw Ojou-sama sitting next to Kurusugawa on the bed, the former patting the latter on the shoulder while the latter seemed to have all blood withdrawn from her face. The golden-haired girl was trembling.

"What is the matter, Kurusugawa-sama?" Otoha placed herself at the opening, not letting even the hem of her dress go beyond the doorstep.

"It is quite late already, Otoha-san." Ojou-sama looked up at her, sapphire eyes glowing brightly in the light of the bed lamp. "I would not bother you anymore. You will need rest for tomorrow." Otoha swallowed. It was polite, but it was a dismissal nevertheless. Ojou-sama did not want Otoha here. Why?

"Then please excuse me." Otoha bowed and closed the door. Then she ran all the way back to her room, where spent a good hour screaming into her pillow. It wasn't fair! It wasn't fair!

* * *

"Nightmare?" Himemiya Chikane said, her hand combing through the angel's golden tresses. 

"Yeah," the other girl nodded. "I saw Oogami-kun trying to kill me again." She shivered as though chilled even when her temples glistened with sweat. "Only this time, he succeeded," she continued with a breaking voice. "He ran me through with his sword." Her hand moved to her chest, telling Chikane exactly where Oogami Souma had hurt her in the dream.

"I do not blame you." Chikane sighed. "It is truly a horrifying experience. But I was glad it was but a dream, Himeko. When you screamed, I was so afraid something had happened to you."

"Did I wake you?" Himeko said ruefully.

"No, I was next door doing a few things when I heard your voice," Chikane answered, moving a little closer to the girl on the bed and put her right arm around her while using her left sleeve to dab at Himeko's temples. Only after that did Himeko stop trembling. She had to be frightened out of her wits to have allowed such intimacy from Chikane without the smallest sign of protest or embarrassment, she thought. Poor girl.

"What are you doing next door?" the golden-haired girl looked up at her, managing a more cheerful tone.

"Well," Chikane cleared her throat, "I was inspecting it because I planned to move in there tomorrow."

The body of the little angel tensed, and it seemed for the first time ever she became conscious of Chikane's hand on her shoulder, Chikane's arm around her back. The girl shifted a little bit, but she showed no evidence that she wanted Chikane to move away.

"Why?" Himeko muttered quietly.

"Same reason as you," Chikane laughed. "I figure that since we usually have a great many things to talk about, I might as well be your next-door neighbor for convenience's sake."

"Really?" The golden-haired girl grinned.

"Yes." Chikane smiled. "And I can get here faster to console you if you have a nightmare, too."

"Thanks," the little angel murmured in appreciation.

"You should try to sleep again, Himeko." Chikane withdrew her arm. The way a grimace formed on Himeko's face and vanished as soon as it surfaced, Chikane thought the angel wanted her arm around her again. She gave herself a mental shake. _Wishful thinking, Himemiya Chikane, _she thought.

"Goodnight, Chikane-chan," the girl said, then added, laughing, "Again."

"Goodnight, Himeko." Chikane smiled softly, rising from the bed.

When she arrived at the door and looked back, though, her heart sank. The girl still sat there, but her face was all but painted with apprehension under the lamp light. Perhaps Himeko was so afraid that she did not want to go to sleep anymore.

"Himeko?"

"Ah, yes?" The golden-haired girl gave a start upon realizing that Chikane was looking at her. She tried to mask her fear, too, although she did a poor job at it.

"Would it inconvenience you if I stay here until you fall asleep?" Chikane suggested.

"No, not at all!" A brilliant smile blossomed on Himeko's lips. It almost split the little angel's face into two once Chikane had settled down next to her again. The girl then lay down on the soft mattress, pulling the thick blanket all the way to her shoulders. She was on her side, facing Chikane, who was leaning her back against the headboard of the bed.

"Chikane-chan?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you like to sing?"

"Interesting question." Chikane laughed softly. "I do, Himeko, but why?"

"Because whenever I couldn't sleep, I would put my headphone on and listened to my CD player so..." she trailed off as though unsure of how to proceed.

"So the spoiled Himeko would like me to sing her a lullaby, is that it?" Chikane smiled.

"Yeah," the little angel nodded, hiding the lower part of her face with the blanket.

"Your wish is my command," Chikane said, hand stroking the other girl's head. Then she started to sing.

_Why is it wrong to love you, why is it wrong to hold you tight? _

_I look to the heavens, asking for an answer from the all-knowing stars _

_"Together you are not meant to be," sparkled the million eyes of the night sky _

_"Unforgiven one, sweet Sinner of the world, seek not what you will never have." _

_There is nowhere I can turn to hide my tears _

_Eventually overflowing my palms along with the moonlight. _

_Ashamed of myself I am, for I dare not reveal my feelings to one I love. _

_What is it I want to say when no word comes from my lips that tremble in the dark? _

_What is it I wish for when I confront you everyday? _

_Just being by your side, just sharing the same moments _

_Revives the long forgotten smile on my lips. _

_Just feeling the same pain as you, just hearing your soft laughter _

_Melts away the agony in my wintry soul. _

_Dear one I love, I am faithfully yours, eternally yours. _

_I want to forever protect the smile you bestowed upon me the moment we met, _

_To see you happy throughout the blue eternity, _

_To shield you from sadness and pain until the end of time. _

_Even if so I have to do from the depth of the night's shadow. _

_Even if I have to stand at the edge of your life, unnoticed by your beautiful eyes. _

By the time Chikane finished, the other girl had already fallen asleep. Smiling, Chikane bent down and kissed her eyelids, whispering softly, _"May nightmares leave you be tonight. May good dreams find their way to your sleep."_ It was what her Mother used to do when Chikane was little. And it had worked more often than not. She only wished it would produce the same effect to the love of her life.

* * *

When Saotome Makoto looked at the clock on the table near her bed, she found the thing read exactly midnight. So she had been sitting on the bed, doing nothing for at least three hours. She wanted to go to sleep but whenever she tried to close her eyes, they sprang open again. After several attempts, she gave up. Makoto guessed that she was afraid of her dreams, where she would see the crying face of Kurusugawa Himeko, whom she had hurt with her cold words. She didn't want to say these things to her roommate but... She sighed. There was no use crying over spilt milk, was there? 

One year of friendship, one full year of strong bond now became water under the bridge. Wouldn't it have been better if Himeko had not been assigned to Makoto's room in the dorm? Wouldn't it have been _much_ better if Makoto had told Himeko her feelings before she met the Himemiya princess? It could have changed something. It could have delivered Makoto what she wished for had she not locked up her feelings inside her hearts.

Perhaps.

A knock on the door told Makoto she had visitor.

"I prefer to be alone, please," she said curtly. Makoto was in no mood for company now.

"It is I," Hibiki Shizuku's voice said. The woman was the doctor assigned to Makoto.

"Come in, then," Makoto answered.

The doctor closed the door after entering and sat down on the chair next to her bed.

"Is there something urgent, doctor, that you have to see me this late?"

"Not really, Saotome-san. Maybe urgent to someone else, but not at all to you." Hibiki-san smiled. Although it wasn't the first time Makoto saw the doctor smile, never before had she noticed how maliciously her lips curved.

"I don't understand."

The woman ignored Makoto and went on:

"Saotome Makoto, you, was born on August the eighth in Tokyo right when the clock struck eight in the evening. You had always liked sports during your time in junior high school. You won the Gold Medal for sprinting and tracking in the athletic meet of your second year. You like sweets, strawberry cakes and the color red. You hate udon noodles, rain, arrogant boys and the color blue. The thing you love most was, or still is, your first crush, your roommate, a girl by the name of Kurusugawa Himeko."

"How do you know all that?" Makoto's voice trembled uncontrollably. The first half was true but it came as no surprise to Makoto. Anyone could have known that had she patiently looked up her records but the second one... How on Earth did the woman get a hold of Himeko's name?

"My dear Mako-chan..."

"Don't call me that," Makoto snapped. The only one ever allowed to call her by that name was... was...

"Of course. Saotome-san my dear, I know everything about you," Hibiki Shizuku flashed her vicious smile at Makoto as if to mock her. "Your darkest thoughts, your deepest desires, everything. Because, after all, you are _special_. I will let you in on a secret but do keep it between us, okay?"

By the time the woman quit yapping, though, the animosity Makoto felt toward her had decreased by half. Hope once more welled in her soul. If what Hibiki Shizuku said was true, there was still a chance Makoto could get what she wanted.

* * *

In her school uniform, Kurusugawa Himeko sat down at the dining table. Chikane-chan was already there, smiling, "Good morning to you, Kurusugawa-san." 

"Good morning, Chikane-chan."

Himeko stole a glance at the Himemiya Ojou-sama. When she woke up this morning, the other girl was already gone. She had wanted to see Chikane-chan when she opened her eyes, though.

"Kurusugawa-sama, your meal is ready," Otoha-san said. For some reason, her voice was thin and impatient as though in a bad mood. She seemed scary, too. Himeko swallowed nervously and made a mental note to herself. _Stay away from Otoha-san whenever she looked like this._ She was the Head Maid of the Mansion, putting a foot wrong with her might mean a lot of bad things happening to her room... or her food.

"Thank you, Otoha-san," Himeko said as carefully and as appreciatively as possible. Still, she failed to improve the Head Maid's lethal mood. The young woman laid the food tray quite gently in front of Himeko but from the dangerous look in her eyes, she seemed more than ready to slam it upon the tabletop... or bash it at Himeko's face. She but wondered if she had unknowingly offended the woman somehow. Strangely enough, though, when the Head Maid arrived at Chikane-chan's place, her expression had already become so soft that she seemed an entirely different person.

Puzzled, Himeko turned to her food tray... and found her stomach lurching. It was a Japanese-style breakfast with cooked rice, lotus soup, and... fried fish with shiitake mushrooms. Cold sweat ran down her back. Himeko wasn't a picky eater or anything. It was just that she couldn't stand the smell and the taste of the mushrooms, which earned top place in the list of food she hated. The last time she ate the thing, she had felt sick for at least one full hour. She never touched it again.

"Is something the matter, Kurusugawa-sama?" Otoha-san's eyes sparkled in a very strange way when they kept flickering between Himeko and the mushroom dish. Were Himeko to describe her, she would say the Head Maid was the picture of a cat who had found out where a milk saucer was. Or maybe a mouse.

"Unn... nothing," Himeko smiled nervously. Maybe if she only picked _some_ bite, it wouldn't be so bad. Putting one bit of shiitake into her mouth, she tried to swallow it immediately. Yet, the horrible taste made her want to spit it out. She didn't dare to.

In the end, she couldn't finish the meal, not when her hand was too shaky to hold the chopsticks. She got into the limousine with Chikane-chan, feeling as though she might just fall after every step she made. It should be okay after a while, it should... Himeko caught sight of the blue-haired princess, who was sitting next to her. The problem with awful mushrooms slipped off her mind. The glorious morning light streaming through the glass windows made the other girl's shiny hair even shinier, her brilliant face even more brilliant, if it was possible. The princess's cheeks, gleaming like snow, all but reminded Himeko of what she had done to them less than a dozen hours before. Her face heated up. Last night, Chikane-chan had asked for a peck on the cheek for her birthday present. Himeko had given her three. The skin of the Himemiya Ojou-sama was so smooth it made silk feel rough, so warm it put fire to shame.

"Ne, Himeko, Himeko?"

"Uh, yes?" She gave a small start.

"Are you well?" Chikane-chan asked, concern plain in her voice. "You have been acting strange all morning."

"I'm okay, probably." Himeko smiled awkwardly.

"No need to hide it." Chikane-chan returned the smile. "The mushrooms took a toll on you, I know."

"Eh?" Himeko blinked. "How?"

"_Anyone_ could figure that out when they see your painful expression," melodious, crystalline laughter answered her. "For a moment there, I thought you just gulped down poison, not food."

"I'm sorry," Himeko said apologetically.

"Do not be. _One persons food is another's poison_, they always say," the blue-haired princess quoted, hand knuckling Himeko gently on her cheek. "Rest assured. I will remove anything with shiitake mushroom from the menu when we come home later today."

"You don't have to, really!" Himeko protested. "I'm already freeloading in your house. For me to impose on you like that is just wrong."

"What if I tell you I hate shiitake mushroom, too?" Chikane-chan gave her a quiet smile and said. "What if I tell you that I was only using you to get rid of it, for my own gain? Would you still feel bad, Himeko?"

Himeko only looked at the Himemiya princess, not really knowing how to respond. Firstly, it was because she couldn't tell whether Chikane-chan was honest in what she just said. Secondly, the warmth in the taller girl's words was spreading in her heart, reminding her of how deep the feelings for the princess had rooted in her soul. Himeko wondered if it was okay to embrace the other girl, right now, right here. She shook the thought off. That would be very unladylike. Chikane-chan would not appreciate it the way Himeko would.

"Thank you, Chikane-chan," Himeko managed to force an answer out of her mouth. Yet, the princess said nothing as she only looked at Himeko, her sapphire eyes became alight as the most adorable smile ever graced her charming lips. Himeko's heart thumped.

Every student in Ototachibana Academy idolized Chikane-chan because of the way she carried herself with impeccable elegance and serenity. Not in their wildest dream could they have imagined that their Miya-sama had a very endearing child-like demeanor that contradicted her cool and collected beauty like this, Himeko bet. She wouldn't blame them, still. After all, Himeko was the only person who knew that side of hers. Was it wrong to think that Himeko was special to the blue-haired princess, was it a mistake to believe it was the truth? Himeko forcefully pulled her eyes away. Keep watching the Himemiya princess like that and she feared she wouldn't be to hold herself back any longer.

"Ne, Chikane-chan," Himeko changed the topic. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Anything you wish," The Himemiya princess favored her with another dazzling smile.

"Umm, remember the song you sang me last night?" Himeko colored a little. "Where did you learn it from?"

"To be honest with you, I do not know," the other girl tapped her lips thoughtfully.

"How so?"

"From when I was little, that song has always been in my head although I still have no idea as to how I learned it in the first place. Do you dislike it?"

"No, Chikane-chan. I love it!" Himeko said hastily. _And I want to hear it every night, too, if it's fine with you, _a thought popped up in her head. Himeko forced it down, hard.

"But Chikane-chan, does it sound like a... love confession to you?" Himeko continued.

"It does? I never notice, Himeko." This time, it was the princess who abruptly broke eye-contact. She turned away and kept silent for the rest of the ride. Himeko but wondered why.

In almost no time at all, the car arrived at the campus' gate, where it stopped and dropped Himeko and the Himemiya Ojou-sama off. They walked up the flights of stairs together. As usually, the girls went nuts when they saw Chikane-chan. They looked up at her with their admiring eyes as they muttered 'good day' to the blue-haired princess. They squealed out loud when they got a greeting in return. It was funny. And of course, although the boys only watched her from afar, they could never hide the affections they had for her. They acted as though they paid no heed to her yet their surreptitious glances betrayed their uncaring expression.

Well, the students, male _and_ female, didn't ignore Himeko like usual for a change. Only that Himeko wished they would again. Their eyes... scared her. If Himeko had to guess, she would say they were brimming with envy and possibly hate. News traveled far, and fast. By now, everyone in school must have been well informed that Himeko now lived with their beloved Miya-sama. All thanks to the extensive network of information the princess's fan club provided. There were times Himeko couldn't help but be amazed at how good they were. If the Himemiya Ojou-sama were to change her hairstyle, the whole school would know within the next fifteen minutes, if not less.

"Kurusugawa," Oogami Souma, standing right at the top of the stairs, said.

"Good morning, Oogami-kun," Himeko greeted him. The frightened feelings rushed back inside her head. He was an Orochi Follower yet... he was still a friend, wasn't he?

The silence stretched awkwardly for a while but in the end, Himeko was saved by the ringing bells announcing that classes were about to start. The boy nodded at her and turned to run. Himeko only wondered what he wanted to say to her.

* * *

Oogami Souma couldn't make himself listen to the lectures like he diligently used to. Himeko's images roamed his mind, making it extremely difficult to even take in the teacher's words. He was going to be in deep trouble if the teacher decided to call on him but there was just no way for him _not_ to think about her. He had been in love with her for a while now but why was he always stammering when he faced her? If he was not going to do something soon, she would be taken away by Himemiya for sure! Unlike with him, Himeko already had loads of affections for the other girl. It was only a matter of time until she realized what she wanted most. Or so he guessed. He had to be fast or he was going to lose her forever. '_Dang it! _And that didn't take into account his true nature as an Orochi who almost killed her the other day. He hoped she didn't mind that. _Wishful thinking, _he reckoned. 

Luckily, the teacher didn't pay much attention to him so Souma escaped that one unscathed. He guessed he got more leeway being a celebrity around school and all. Taking out his lunchbox, Souma went out of class to find a place so that he could eat without hearing those girls scream _'Jin-samaaaaaaaaaaa!!'_ at the top of their lungs. The truth was, he wanted to eat lunches with Himeko. He never could. It wasn't that he didn't try. Several times when he had gathered enough courage to go near her class, she was never there. When he asked about it with her classmates in a way that wouldn't make them suspect anything, he learned that she always disappeared at lunch time. What a problem. It was kind of lame that he, who wielded utmost powers, couldn't even come close to the one he loved.

Souma walked down the stairs, feeling like he couldn't be happy for the rest of his life. And he saw Himeko two flights of stair below, which made his heart jump. Much to his disappointment, she had company. Worse luck, he was hoping he could found her alone. He recognized the three girls who were talking to her, though. They were the infamous Fanatic Trio from the Himemiya fan club, one of them was the leader, Takada Izumi. He never liked them for their strange obsession with Himemiya Chikane, much less their cocky attitudes.

They weren't having a friendly conversation with Himeko, it seemed. More like they were surrounding her, bombarding her with questions. It didn't take a genius to know what they were asking, of course. They had to be about Himeko living with Himemiya. The school was still buzzing with that. It was definitely not some news the fan club members, much less the head honchos, would welcome.

Not wanting to see Himeko being bullied by the Fanatic Trio anymore, Souma climbed down the stairs just to stop dead a second later when he saw someone approaching. A pretty girl with long blue hair was walking toward Himeko and her questioners, sapphire eyes glowing with a light so cold she could freeze a man's blood. _Himemiya Chikane. _It would be a miracle if the Fanatic Trio survived this morning unscathed.

* * *

"Would you give way, please?" Kurusugawa Himeko said, clutching the obentou she planned to eat with the blue-haired princess to her bosom. When she first noticed the Trio trailing after her in the hallways, she didn't think too much about them... until they followed her down the stairs and cornered her. Now, she was very much uneasy looking at the unfriendly light in their eyes. Nakashima Miho in her rectangular eyeglasses, who had her hair bleached green in a miserable attempt to make it look emerald, seemed a cat trapped inside a room with a dog. Sun-haired Kouzuki Rikka, whose face was so plain and body so thin she could have passed for a boy should she ever don a pair of pants and a T-shirt, reminded Himeko of a picture of a murderer once she saw on TV. Yet, Takada Izumi – the reigning President of the powerful Himemiya fan club, the rabid fan girl who dyed her hair blue to show her admiration toward Himeko's princess – made her subordinates look like innocent babies. 

"Not until you answer our questions!" Rikka said heatedly. "So spill!"

"Yeah!" Miho glared at Himeko, fist shaking in front of her face as though she wanted to thump Himeko's head. "Spill!"

"Speak before we make you howl, Kurusugawa." Izumi nodded.

"I already answered your question," Himeko protested, pressing her back against the wall.

"You only said yes when we asked whether you were living with Miya-sama," Izumi said coldly. "You never said why."

"That's because the Dorm was destroyed and..." Himeko said for the hundredth time but the bespectacled Miho cut her off.

"Lies!" the girl hissed. "All other students in the Dorm are living in the City, their expenses paid by the school itself. You should be no exception!"

Himeko almost groaned in exasperation. How was she supposed to tell the Trio that Chikane-chan brought her to the Himemiya Mansion because they had been secret friends for the one year they spent in Ototachibana? Were she to say that, the three of them would explode on her for sure. The worst thing was that she had never been a skilled liar. Any excuse she said would not convince them.

"Tell us now!" Rikka demanded. "How did a lowly commoner like you get to live under the same roof as our honorable Miya-sama?"

"Did you grovel at her feet and beg for her sympathy?" Izumi said, voice bristled with contempt. "Well, did you?"

"For your information, ladies, _I_ asked Kurusugawa-san to come to the Mansion, not the other way around," Chikane-chan's voice said coolly. The blue-haired princess was standing behind the Fanatic Trio, her face the same as that which Himeko had seen during the confrontation... well, conversation with Oogami-sensei yesterday. Her eyes were glowing with icy fury, her lips compressed in a straight line, and her voice the sound of an unsheathing sword. Although the three girls were roughly of the same height as the Himemiya Ojou-sama, she managed to tower over them. Not just that, her presence alone chilled the atmosphere and quieted the air. If anything, the princess seemed more intimidating than ever. The Fanatic Trio obviously felt it, for blood withdrew from their faces, leaving behind complexions as white as their Ototachibana shirts.

"Mi... Miya-sama!" Takada Izumi bobbed her head in a deep bow, followed suit by the vice-presidents of the fan club. They seemed ready to curtsy, too. "Good day to you!"

"What were you doing with Kurusugawa-san?" the Himemiya princess said quietly.

"Uh, nothing!" Izumi blinked, fright visible on her face.

"Then why are you _still_ blocking her way?" Chikane-chan's voice was soft but hidden within it was a current of unspeakable anger. Himeko could even _hear_ it boil. "Do you mean to keep her here until the bells ring?"

"We're sorry!" The Fanatic Trio literally jumped apart, clearing an opening for Himeko. Hastily, she trotted through it, determined not to run. When she arrived at the princess's side and looked back, she saw three girls meek as lambs staring at the ground beneath their feet. It was rather hard to believe that those _"lambs"_ would have skinned Himeko had Chikane-chan not arrived in time.

"Would you go _there_ first without me, Kurusugawa-san?" the blue-haired princess turned to Himeko, a gentle smile gracing her lips and softening her beautiful face. "I have a few things to instruct my... fellow students." A wink told Himeko exactly what the Himemiya Ojou-sama meant by _"there"_. The Garden of the Roses.

"Yes, Miya-sama." Himeko nodded and left, somehow feeling _sorry_ for the three girls. Witnessing how the blue-haired princess had pushed back the Shingetsu High Priest with but her sheer presence, Himeko doubted the Trio was going to have much chance stopping the disaster coming down their heads.

* * *

Keeping himself out of sight, Oogami Souma quietly listened to the conversation between Himemiya Chikane and the Fanatic Trio. Truth be told, he wanted to run after Himeko so he could ask her to lunch but since the four girls were occupied the stairs, he couldn't really do that. He cursed them in his head. Why must people keep getting in his way? 

"Long have I ignored your actions, as I believed your foolishness only stemmed from your admiration for me," Himemiya said softly. Had she a sword, she would be baring it at their throat. Or cutting them. "But now you have stepped too far out of line."

"We meant Kurusugawa no harm, Miya-sama!" Izumi said. Souma was under the impression that the girl would be groveling at Himemiya's feet should the latter ever give the hint that she wished it. The other two girls, also. They had ever been crazy idiots. "We haven't done anything to her, really!"

"Fortunate for _you_ that you have not," the rich girl's voice was ice. "Or I would have made you _howl_ until graduation."

Once again, the Fanatic Trio started blubbering excuses to defend themselves. Too bad, Himemiya would hear none of it. A frosty glare silenced the foolish girls who had thought that they could bully someone the rich girl _treasured_ without incurring her wrath. This time, it was they who tried to be as close to the wall as possible. Perhaps they feared Himemiya would toss them down the stairs.

"Listen well," Himemiya said. "You, including those whose names I do not know, shall not even appear in front of Kurusugawa-san unless I give you permission. Am I understood?"

"Yes, Miya-sama!" Nakashima Miho, Kouzuki Rikka, and Takada Izumi nodded again and again so quickly their heads seemed likely to fall off.

"You shall get out of my sight, now," Once Himemiya Chikane finished saying that, the girls ran down the stairways leading toward the first floor as though hell was on their heels. Thirty seconds or so later, Souma could hear a loud cry echoing way down below. It seemed someone fell. Well, it served them right, in any event. They should learn that the last person on Earth they wanted to mess with was Kurusugawa Himeko. Himemiya went too _soft_ on them in his opinion, however. Had it been he, Souma would have made them wish they never enrolled in Ototachibana Academy.

Sighing quietly, Souma climbed the stairs back to his classroom. He was in no mood for lunch right now. He stopped short after his second step, though, when Himemiya's voice said coldly from the flight beneath his:

"You as well, Oogami-san. Should I find your existence... _a threat_ to Kurusugawa-san's well-being, I shall remove you."

When Souma looked down, no trace of the girl was left. An uneasy feeling rose in his heart. When Himemiya Chikane said _"remove"_, he didn't think she meant _"from this school" _or even_ "from Mahoroba"_. He wondered what made she think that she could do anything to him, though. Well, true, she was the daughter of the person who built this school, and he a student, but in contrast, he was an Orochi Follower and she a Priestess who had not awakened yet. A disturbing thought stirred in his mind. What would happen when she _did_? Souma really didn't even want to imagine...

* * *

"Did I keep you waiting long?" the blue-haired princess said once she had gone through the opening on the fence that was hidden by the bushes. She still seemed graceful even when she was brushing the leaves off her clothes. 

"No, I just got here." Kurusugawa Himeko smiled at her.

"Very well then." Chikane-chan settled down next to Himeko, none of the sternness or iciness Himeko had seen before remained on her face. She once again the lovely and childlike princess Himeko knew and loved.

"Um, thanks, Chikane-chan," Himeko said, "for saving me."

"No need," the Himemiya Ojou-sama replied. "It was because of me that they bothered you in the first place. You do not have to worry though. They have learned their lesson well. I doubt they would cause trouble for you in the future."

"I see." Himeko smiled. "But Chikane-chan, why were you there? I thought you'd be in the Garden of the Roses waiting for me."

"I was going there to see you, actually," Chikane-chan said. "I thought you'd like me to pick you up so we could come here together."

"I'd love to!" Himeko said excitedly, and then deflated a second later. "But aren't you afraid they'd find out you and I are friends?"

"Not anymore," Chikane-chan smiled softly. "I wanted to hide our friendship in the beginning because I feared the students would grow hostile toward you. Now that everybody knows you are living with me, there is no longer any reason to keep it secret."

"You do understand that this will be like pouring oil into the fire, ne?" Himeko laughed. "They'll gnash their teeth every time they see me walking with you around in public. I don't even know what they'd do if they caught me by myself."

"Then it is simple." Chikane-chan turned to Himeko, her smile broadened and lit up her face. "Do not let them find you alone. Stay by my side forever. You will be safe."

Himeko blinked. If anything, that only sounded a love confession. Well, Himeko would have believed that it was one had she not noticed the twinkling in the princess's sapphire eyes. The other girl was joking.

"Sure," Himeko said. Chikane-chan might think that Himeko was going along with her joke but... Himeko meant it. She did want to stay by her beloved's side... forever.

"Then we have a deal, ne," the Himemiya Ojou-sama laughed softly, her hand patting on Himeko's shoulder.

After that, they had their lunches in blissful contentment. Whenever Himeko looked at the blue-haired princess, the girl would smile. Whenever Himeko tell her the funny stories she heard from other students, the girl would laugh with the same beautiful voice that had gifted Himeko with a dreamless sleep. If only Himeko could be a little bit wittier so she could invent jokes to make Chikane-chan laugh, so she could hear it over and over again...

The only thing that disturbed their peaceful moments together was the sound of Chikane-chan's cell phone going off when they were about to leave the Garden of the Roses. It turned out that Oogami-sensei wanted them to go to Shingetsu Grand Shrine after school so they could help him awakening something he named "Ame no Hitomi" –"The Eyes of Heaven" _– _which the High Priest never cared to explain before he hung up. Well, whatever they were, they still sounded decidedly unpleasant in Himeko's ears. In fact, the moment the blue-haired princess told her the names, a chill had run down her spine for apparently no reason at all. She had so bad a feeling about this that even though the Himemiya princess accompanied her back to her classroom – which earned Himeko stares as friendly as that of the Fanatic Trio from other people – her heart still felt as heavy as a chunk of rocks. She hoped it was just her.

A few hours later, Himeko learned that it wasn't.

* * *

"Welcome to the Enshrinement Chamber of the Shingetsu Grand Shrine, O Priestesses of the Sun and Moon," Kazuki intoned, his outstretched arms taking in the vast space confined within the rock walls of the Chamber. Although this place was deep beneath the ground, where no sunlight could penetrate, it was still as bright as day, all thanks to the illumination provided by a large sphere of golden light in the middle of the ice pillar standing at its heart. Surrounding the pillar was six thin columns – also made of light of distinctive colors, red, white, green, blue, black, and purple – each housing a floating, ancient-looking sword. "Behold the Holy Ground where human's Hope resides. Behold the Instruments of the World's Salvation." 

Had Kazuki said these things to anyone else, they would have _ooh'ed_ or _ahh'ed_, and been deeply impressed. The two girls, young and innocent as they were, never gave such reaction. Kurusugawa Himeko, in the long-sleeved white blouse named chihaya and a red sweeping skirt called a hibakama, stared at the six columns of light and the ice pillar with an expression on her face that spoke volumes of terror. Himemiya Chikane, also in a white chihaya and a blue hibakama, on the other hand, calmly looked at the same things with a pointed look in her eyes that spelled utmost hatred. It made sense, in a way, although Kazuki doubted the girls themselves were aware of what they were doing. Of course, the memories were either gone or buried within their consciousness, but the feelings still remained, waiting to surface.

"For three thousand years, we of the Oogami Clan have waited for this day to come," Kazuki continued. "Generations after generations of Shingetsu's heirs have wished for your safe arrival upon this sacred ground. For it is here you will find the power to face the darkness and rekindle the flame of hope."

"I do believe you should stop the flowery talk and get to the point, High Priest," Himemiya Chikane said coldly, and Kazuki almost smiled in amusement. The girl had not forgotten her dislike for him, of course. "We do have businesses we must attend to at home." The way her sapphire eyes flickered toward the other girl in the Chamber, Kazuki was under the impression that her _"businesses"_ meant something like spending time alone with the Priestess of the Sun, and no more. He almost sighed. Such was the problem with someone head over heels in love. Her parents surely had not acted any differently. He could still remember the time when Kimika could barely register anything but Kyou's name whenever Kazuki talked to her.

"Nothing is as important as this, Himemiya-san," Kazuki declared firmly no matter what he thought. "Nothing is more important than saving the world!"

"Oh, I am sure there is not," sapphire eyes bored at Kazuki as though wanting to punch holes on his body, sarcasm plain in her words.

"How are we going to save the world, then, sensei?" Kurusugawa Himeko said hurriedly. She seemed... troubled by the hostility the Himemiya daughter directed toward him.

"You will start by reclaiming your weapons of old, Kurusugawa-san," Kazuki gestured toward the sphere of light. "In there sleep Ame no Hitomi – the Eyes of Heaven, that which will grant you powers beyond belief."

"What are they?" the golden-haired girl asked curiously.

"Swords," Kazuki said simply. "The Eyes of Heaven are two Japanese katana, each imbued with the ability to rouse Ame no Murakumo the Sword God from his eternal slumber. For that, they were also named the True Keys of Awakening. When the Dark God fled to Onogoro, the Immortals of Heaven had forged the Eyes so that Yamata no Orochi's menace could be eliminated. Thanks to the swords, the Kannazuki Priestessesdefeated him three thousand years ago. With them, you can do it again."

"Kannazuki Priestesses," Himemiya Chikane said quietly. "Why are we called that, anyway?"

"I... don't know," Kazuki lied. Well, he could have told them the little bits of information he had gathered about the name but he was very much afraid that his tongue would slip and allowed them to know what they should not.

"For one who always seems to have an answer at hand," the Himemiya's daughter laughed softly, "it is but unusual."

"Why don't I see them, sensei? The swords, I mean," Himeko intervened, smiling ruefully toward the blue-haired princess as if offering apologies. The sweet smile the taller girl returned certainly said that none was needed. Kazuki doubted _anything_ Himeko did could tick Chikane off. The reverse should also be true.

"Because they are shielded from mortal's eyes by protection spells, Kurusugawa-san," Kazuki answered. "You will know what they look like soon, however, when you help me dissolve all those spells."

"How?" Himeko asked.

"Remember the sheet of paper I gave each of you, the content of which I asked you to memorize before we came here?" Kazuki continued at a nod from both of the girls. "Those are the incantations needed to break down the Watchers of the Swords, or the Six Shinken Seals we call them." Kazuki pointed at each of the six columns of light. "Reciting the sacred words while standing at your designated position," his hand gestured toward the Sun and Moon Crests engraved upon the hard ground, which stood opposite each other across the pillar of ice, "will render the Seals harmless, or this would happen to those who try to take Ame no Hitomiby force."

Kazuki took up a pebble near his feet and threw it at the gap between two of the Shinken. In an instant shorter than a heartbeat, lightning springing from all six columns of light jabbed at the pebble and turned it to dust. Kurusugawa Himeko swallowed audibly while a shadow of fear stole across Himemiya Chikane's face.

"Do you understand what you must do, now?" Kazuki asked.

Himemiya Chikane and Kurusugawa Himeko nodded.

"Good, then let us get started," Kazuki said.

With that, the girls planted themselves firmly upon the Crests, Himeko on the Sun, Chikane on the Moon, and began reciting the incantations.

_"In the name of Izanagi and Izanami, great Makers of the World,"_ Himeko said.

_"Father and Mother to all who walk this sacred land,"_ Chikane said.

_"In the name of Amaterasu, Goddess of the Golden Sun, _

_ She who bestows the warm Light upon the frozen earth." _Himeko said.

_"In the name of Tsukiyomi, Goddess of the Silver Moon, _

_ She who guards the night with her loving heart, her immortal soul."_ Chikane said.

_"I command you, Watchers of the Eyes of Heaven, _

_ Six Shinken that protect the most precious treasure Man has ever had, _

_ Six Seals that defend the peaceful slumber of the True Keys of Awakening,"_ together they chanted. The ritual was yet to be completed, as there were a few more lines to the incantation... but already all hell broke loose. Sacred lightning once again rose from the Shinken columns and struck the ground near where the Priestesses stood. Hastily the girls leapt from their positions, trying to get away from the Seals as much as they could. Not long after that, the red pillar of light thinned as the sword within it snapped into two in a harsh sound, sending its hilt toward one corner of the room and its sharp blade toward another Shinken Seal. In a thunderous roar, the broken blade rebounded from the thin column of light and rushed toward... Kurusugawa Himeko!

Shocked, the golden-haired girl only stared while the pointed tip of the sword approached her.

"Himeko!" Himemiya Chikane screamed, silver light blazing blindingly behind her back.

* * *

"Where are you going, Yue-sama?" Yuusaku asked the moment the shoji door slid open and admitted the silver-haired young woman, fully clothed in her snow-white hagoromo. She was pretty, very much so that many in the Holy City had spent the better part of their time swooning over her. Yet, even if she were a thousand times prettier and didn't have such a high opinion of herself that she stared other people down her nose, Yuusaku himself would never _think_ of courting her. After all, the woman was _tainted_. She was _disgusting!_

"Who are _you_ to call me by my nickname, ChiefMessenger?" the woman said coldly, silver eyes aflame. Oh yeah, only a woman would fuss over a _name_ like this. He chuckled.

"Well, well, well, please excuse me," Yuusaku said, not bothering to add any bit of respect into his tone. "Where are you going then, Tsukiyomi-sama?"

Tsukiyomi, Goddess of the Sacred Moon, foster daughter to the Lord of Heaven Himself, peered at Yuusaku imperiously. "None of your business," the woman said. "Now, give way."

"I beg to differ," Yuusaku laughed. "It _is_ my business to learn wherever you are going."

"You overestimate yourself, Yuusaku," Tsukiyomi regarded him with her silver eyes again, only this time they seemed more prickly than any needle and sharper than any knife. Yuusaku snickered. So he went from ChiefMessenger to plain Yuusaku, didn't he? "Are you not aware of what penalty you will earn once you stand in the way of a High Immortal?"

"Oh, I am," Yuusaku answered softly. "Trial in the Sanctum Core and possible exile to the Human World." There were very few High Immortals in Izumo, most of them related by blood to the Lord while the rest occupied powerful positions in the Celestial Assembly, all of them protected by Law and the authority of the Lord. Not that it meant anything to Yuusaku, of course. He might be but a plain Immortal but even the High Ones knew as well as he that he held the power to drag them to the Sanctum Core for an inquisition, which of course they wouldn't find pleasant in the least bit.

"If you do not wish to see that happened to you, get out of my way," Tsukiyomi commanded.

"No," Yuusaku said firmly, a wave of pleasure washing over him as shock seized the silver-haired woman. Well, not that he could blame her for such a reaction. After all, she was the all powerful Goddess of the Moon, favorite daughter to the Lord, who probably had never seen someone resist her order in her entire life.

"You must not want to live," Tsukiyomi said icily, hand erected a few inches from Yuusaku's chest. Technically, she wasn't supposed to do that. Even a High Immortal could be executed on account of murder and no laws would say it wrong. Yuusaku wondered if she was confident that her _beloved_ Father would let her crime slide away unnoticed.

Probably.

"By the authority of the Lord," Yuusaku said, taking a small rectangular plate inscribed with the Crests of the Sun and Moon from his pocket and holding it in front of the woman's nose. "I demand Tsukiyomi, Goddess of the Moon, to reveal her destination and her purpose for leaving Izumo." The Lord was wise, for he had correctly foreseen the resistance of his beloved daughter. Else, he would never have given Yuusaku this.

Tsukiyomi only stared at the plate in disbelief for a few seconds, no more. After that, determination lit up her face.

"Give way, now!" the woman said firmly.

"Oh, what's this?" Yuusaku laughed. "You mean to disobey your father? You mean to go against the holder of the Regent Seal?"

"That Seal cannot speak," Tsukiyomi said. "If father wishes to give me orders, He will do so directly." She paused, and he sensed power surge in her. "I will say it one last time, Messenger. Leave, or else." Silver aura enveloped her hand. Yuusaku couldn't believe this. The woman meant to pave her way out of Izumo with his corpse!

"Else what?" Yuusaku snapped his finger.

Two magic circles appeared at his signal, one above her head and one beneath her shoes. The woman didn't have any time to react as thin threads of white light rushed out from the circles and bound her arms and legs. Thunder roared, and lightning flashed from the woman as she cried out in surprise. In less than the time one needed to drink a cup of tea, she collapsed onto her knees. Without the threads to offer her support, she would have been sprawling on the floor by now.

"How... is this... possible?" Tsukiyomi's eyes widened as much as they could, incredulity flooded her voice. "_You_ Sealed... my power?"

"Hard to believe, isn't it?" Yuusaku laughed softly. "How could I, a simple God, be able to suppress a High Immortal of your caliber?" It was the truth. Tsukiyomi was among the most powerful deities in Heaven. Only Amaterasu the Goddess of the Sun matched the woman in strength and only her little brother Ame no Murakumo and her Father the Lord surpassed her, everybody knew that. "Well, you know what, Tsukiyomi," Yuusaku's laughter grew louder and more satisfied, "I am only the one who cast the Sealing Spell, the strength for it comes from twenty of my most powerful Messengers stationed within the Heavenly Palace."

"It is... father's wish, is it not?" Tsukiyomi muttered breathlessly. "A pawn like you... would never have the nerve... to detain me... without order."

"Indeed," Yuusaku nodded. "Don't you agree that a father knows his daughter best? The Lord figured that you might just come to Onogoro and help your adopted daughters again despite his warnings. And he is right. I must say, though, Tsukiyomi, I am taking great pleasure and honor in this mission."

"Despicable lapdog," Tsukiyomi said.

"You have the guts to brand me with the word _'despicable'_, woman?" Yuusaku snarled, his hand seizing her silver hair and jerked them upward, dragging along her head. The woman never let out any painful cry, though, which irritated Yuusaku no end. "Look at yourself and what kind of dirty things you have done in the past!"

Tsukiyomi glared at him. Still, unasked question shone in her eyes. Then she got it. The woman had to be aware that since Yuusaku was the right-hand-man of the Lord of Heaven, there was always the possibility that the Lord had told him about her secrets. Horror crept across her face.

Yuusaku meant to say more to further the devastation he wrought upon the woman, but somehow his mouth couldn't even form the words. He knew why. There was someone standing behind his back, exerting so powerful a pressure upon him that he felt suffocated. Letting go of the woman's hair, he turned around slowly, and gasped when his eyes fell upon the most beautiful Immortal in the Three Worlds. Amaterasu the Goddess of the Sun, her golden hair falling in glittering waves all the way to her feet, peered at him frostily.

"Yui?" Tsukiyomi said, surprise plain in her voice.

"You..." Yuusaku managed. "How did you get in here?" For Heaven's sake, there were a ton of Messengers around this area, and none sent words that the damned woman was coming? What the hell could they be doing out there? Sleeping?!

"Since when have your underlings been able to track _me_?" Amaterasu said, her chilly voice very much at odds with the flame of anger burning in her golden eyes. She was known across Heaven for a carefree and childish Goddess but right now... she was the picture of someone ready for cold-blooded murder.

"By au... authority of the Lo... Lord," Yuusaku stammered, raising the Regent Seal in front of the golden-haired woman, "I demand that... yo... you leave...u... us right now!"

"What authority?" Amaterasu said, voice growing colder. In a burst of light, the Regent Seal in Yuusaku's hand shattered into pieces. The frightening thing was that before the fragments reached the wooden floor, they crumbled into dust. Yuusaku's mouth dropped open.

"Well?" Amaterasu continued as though nothing had happened. "Do you have anything that proves father's authority? If you do, show me."

"You..." Yuusaku didn't know how to finish it.

"You have always thought you had more power than you actually did," Amaterasu said, stepping forward. "But now you have gone too far, insect of an Immortal."

Golden flames burst out from every of Yuusaku's particles, and he started to howl.

* * *

Within the bindings of the threads of light that Sealed her power, Yue stared speechlessly at a Yuusaku screaming and thrashing upon the wooden floor. His body was wreathed in flames but no matter how hard he tried to roll around to extinguish them, they continued to burn fiercely. He was in no danger, for Yui, the nickname the Goddess of the Sun made herself, only tortured his mind, not his flesh. Of course, the man's clothes were unharmed. Could not say Yue pitied him, though. 

"Did he hurt you, Yue-chan?" Yui stood in front of her, face painted with concern. At a wave of her hand, all the threads snapped and dissolved into thin air. Howls rose from every direction. The Messengers must not feel very well right at this moment, having their powers _thoroughly_ broken so.

"No," Yue muttered curtly, mind still numbing from the unexpected turn of events. Who could have thought that Yui, whom Yue treated harshly every time they met, was the one who came to her rescue?

Sighing, Yue tried to rise to her feet and failed. Had not it been for Yui, who extended her arms to help Yue stay steady, she would have been lying on the ground. But of course... the Seal's effect was still lingering upon her. She doubted it was going to fade for another hour or so.

"I've heard everything, Yue-chan," Yui said. "You wished to go to Chikane and Himeko, didn't you?"

"Yes," Yue nodded reluctantly.

"In your current condition, you can't, really." Yui sighed. "But if it's okay, I'll take you wherever you want me to."

Yue stared at the woman in disbelief. Normally, she would decline it no matter what... but now... she could not afford to. From a while ago, way before Yuusaku stopped her from leaving the room, her heart was beating madly, a sign that disaster was going to befall her sweet children the Priestesses. She could not leave them to fend for themselves against the Orochi, not when their powers were still inactivated so.

"Then please," Yue said pleadingly, "take me to them."

"As you wish, Yue-chan," Yui said, a smile lighting up her already dazzling face. Then she took Yue into her arms and opened a Dimensional Portal to the Human World.

* * *

Alone in the Enshrinement Chamber of Shingetsu, Oogami Kazuki held the two pieces of the broken Shinken in his hands and stared at them in the bright light of the golden sphere. Now that was a close call. Had Himemiya Chikane not appeared next to Kurusugawa Himeko in time and pushed her out of the way, the latter would have been dead. Although the blade still made a deep gash on Chikane's right arm as a result, it was still a small price to pay. After all, had the Priestess of the Sun been killed, the hope of the world would have come along with her to the grave. 

He chuckled. At least they made some progress, although not in the department that he would like them to. Himemiya Chikane had finally been able to wield a little bit of her transcending powers, which was demonstrated by the way she traversed the space between herself and Himeko to appear by the latter's side in the nick of time. It was very good news, of course. Now, the girl only had to reclaim the rest of her Priestess power and carry out the mission dictated by the Project.

Kazuki's eyes fell upon the broken sword in his hands again. Progress aside, this incident was... very disturbing. When the sword first struck another Shinken column and rebounded the way it came, he could have sworn that Himemiya Chikane was standing beyond the same column. Had the thing not been there, the Priestess of the Moon would have become the blade's target, not Kurusugawa Himeko. Was it just happenstance that Kyou and Kimika's daughter stood in the way of the sword? Or was it the Shinken's will to remove her?

Kazuki hoped not.

* * *

The cool breezes from the sea gently brushed Himemiya Chikane's hair as she watched Himeko, who sat next to her on the beach, in silence. Waves of seawater washed upon the golden sand, making pleasant sounds that could heal one fatigued by the neck-breaking pace of the world. The sun was sinking toward the horizon but anyone who sat on this beach would think that perhaps the blood-red orb was submerging beneath the water surface. Chikane had always liked this place so once in a while, she would tell her chauffer to take her here after school and sat quietly upon the bed of golden sand and relaxed. Yet, it seemed the soothing effect of this beautiful scenery did not change the mood of the little angel, who was hugging her knees, face so sad Chikane thought the girl would break into tears any moment. 

"You are being too harsh on yourself, Himeko," Chikane said gently. "This is not your fault."

"It is!" the golden-haired girl insisted. "Because of me, you were hurt."

"Hurt?" Chikane asked innocently, a small smile curving her lips. "Where?"

"Eh?" The little angel stared at Chikane, mouth working soundlessly. Then she clamped it shut, looking extremely flustered. The girl knew that whatever injuries caused by the Shinken blade had already been healed by the High Priest. It was spectacular, really, seeing that only a wave of the man's hand above the wound made it close and vanish. But of course, Chikane was not going to tell him that, was she?

"Technically, I _am_ not hurt, so you should not worry about it," Chikane said, still smiling.

"That doesn't change the fact that you almost lost your life protecting mine," Himeko said, burying her head in her arms, her voice strained, her shoulder shook.

"You said that as if it was a bad thing." Chikane laughed quietly.

"It _is_ a bad thing!" the little angel gave Chikane a shocked look.

"No, it is not," Chikane shook her head in amusement. "Even if I had died in your stead, I still would have considered it fair trade."

"But I..." the golden-haired girl started, and went silent when Chikane hushed her by putting a finger gently against her lips.

"What kind of friend am I if I see you in danger and not risk all I have to save you?" Chikane smiled quietly, her finger left Himeko's lips to arrive at her left cheek, upon which Chikane placed her hand in a gentle caress. The other girl blushed hotly. "I would never forgive myself for abandoning any friend, let alone _you_, Himeko."

"Me?" the little angel asked. "Why me?" the girl leaned toward Chikane, amethyst eyes shining with wonder. Chikane inhaled deeply. The face of the little angel and hers were only a hand apart, which all but make the bundle of emotions she had been suppressing burst free from the deepest corners of her heart. Gazing at the other girl's magnificent face, watching her pretty lips slightly opened as though wanting to be kissed, Chikane felt her heart racing so quickly it could beat any horse. Somehow, she did not think those three simple words were so hard to say anymore.

"Because you are _special_," Chikane answered softly, leaning in as well. The distance between their lips grew shorter and shorter. "Because I..."

"Sorry to interrupt, Priestesses," a woman's voice from overhead said in amusement. "I need your attention."

Bounding to their feet, Chikane and Himeko watched in terror as they looked up and saw a sun-haired woman in a green dress suspending amidst the air. She would have been called pretty had it not been for the vicious and predatory smile on her lips... or the sword whose blade seemed to be made out of fog in her hand.

"Orochi," Chikane said frostily, standing in front of Himeko. They just had to choose the worst time to show up, did they not? To think that Chikane had finally worked up the courage to confess... To think that she might not be able to do that again for a long time... Rage bloomed in her heart.

"Yes, I am the Orochi Sixth Head," the woman landed softly like a falling leaf upon the sandy beach, her slightly inclined toward Chikane. It seemed at least one of those monsters know civility. "My name is Hibiki Shizuku, glad to make your acquaintance."

"I would introduce myself as well," Chikane said, her voice growing colder. "But I doubt it is necessary."

"I would prefer you not to, anyway." Hibiki Shizuku's gaze settled on Chikane's face, then it slipped to that of her little angel. Himeko's grip on Chikane's arm tightened. The girl was scared.

"You have come to kill us, I suppose." Chikane put her hand upon that of the little angel, trying to sooth her. Still, the girl trembled.

"Not exactly, Priestesses." Shizuku shook her head. "I am here for but a little experiment."

"What experiment?" Chikane demanded.

"First, let me introduce you to my partner" the woman laughed softly, pointing at her weapon, "This is Arashigumo the Wind Blade. To give you an idea what it is capable of, allow me to demonstrate." The woman erected the blurry sword in front of her and said quietly, _"Ethereal binds."_

Himeko's touch on Chikane's body vanished as the girl was pulled upward into the air. Twenty feet or so above the ground she stood, hands and feet struggling in vain against something invisible. Face painted with horror, Chikane's sweetheart screamed, _"Chikane-chan!" _

"You monster!" Chikane rounded on the Orochi woman. "What are you doing to Himeko?"

"Well, you see," Hibiki Shizuku smiled viciously. "I cannot do my little experiment with your _friend_ clinging to you so, now can I?"

"You..."

"Without further ado," the woman pointed her swordat Chikane, eyes flashing with malice. "Crush her, Arashigumo!"

The air solidified around Chikane, making feel as though she was a grape in the winepress. With all the air driven out of her lungs, Chikane was under the impression that even if she somehow survived the immense pressure – unlikely as it was – she would still be suffocated to death. She did not want to die. Not when she still had a promise to keep and a dearest person to protect. Not when she had yet to learn how it would feel to have her love returned by the one she cherished.

Something inexplicable happened.

As if Chikane's arms have their own will, they rose upward and sliced through the inhuman pressure so that her palms now faced a surprised Hibiki Shizuku. Silver light poured from her fingertips as if water from a fountain. A heartbeat later, Chikane found herself standing within the protection of a large sphere made out of silver aura, upon the wall of which the winds beat in fury. The pressure had vanished.

Chikane looked at the thing in wonder. So this was what she could do?

"Yes, a Priestess no doubt," Shizuku nodded thoughtfully. "You can even create a Barrier that can keep out Arashigumo's winds." Her lips curved upward again, baring her teeth. "But you know what, Barriers are as dangerous as they are useful. For this can happen when they _break_." She made a stabbing motion at Chikane's Barrier with her sword. The howling of the winds intensified... and the protective layer shattered into pieces.

Chikane fell to the ground, blood spilled out from the cracks in the skin of her hands, which had opened as soon as the Barrier broke. Her head swayed terribly, her stomach hurt as though hundreds of knives were trying to tear it apart. She coughed, and blood spilled out in nozzles from her mouth.

"Chikane-chan!" Himeko screamed from above her.

"Apparently you are not aware that a Barrier is empowered by your own life force, Priestess," the Orochi woman said pleasantly. "Breaking one means breaking both."

"Why, thank you for the explanation," Chikane said coldly while trying to get back on her feet. She succeeded, but not without falling back down a couple of times.

"It is incomprehensible, really," Hibiki Shizuku taps her lips in puzzlement. "I cannot see how a weakling like you could defeat the Third Head."

"What Third Head?" Chikane demanded, placing a hand on her stomach. It still hurt, and she felt like throwing up.

"No use playing innocent, girl," Shizuku _tsk'ed_ irritably. "We all know it was you who almost crippled Girochi Tokiya. He is still bed-ridden, thanks to you, by the way."

"I do not know any man by that name," Chikane said dryly. "And certainly I do not know who hurt him. Although I would say that knowing you monsters, it is probably well deserved. What a pity he did not die."

"A tongue sharp enough to flay fish, yours that is." The Orochi Follower laughed. "Too bad I do not have the time to bandy words with you now, so you would excuse me." Hibiki Shizuku raised her Arashigumo overhead and slashed at Chikane. It was all she could do to watch the foggy blade of the sword descending upon her head. First Oogami Souma, now Hibiki Shizuku. It seemed the Immortals of Heaven had decided that they wanted to see Chikane die by an Orochi's sword.

Golden light flared at the same time Shizuku's sword struck flesh and blood spilled onto the ground. Chikane widened her eyes in shock. It was not her body Arashigumo slashed at. It was Himeko's. The girl was standing in front of her, arms wrapping around Chikane in a protective embrace, her breaths heavy, her eyes hazy, her grip weak. Trembling, Chikane's hand touched the little angel's back. When she lifted it up again, her palm was already stained with blood. Horror rose in her soul, clenching her throat. Tears welled up in her eyes.

"Stupid Himeko..." Chikane sobbed. "Why did you do this?"

"You said... it was fair trade to die in my stead... Chikane-chan," the angel murmured weakly, sagging against her. Slowly, but carefully, they sank to their knees upon the sandy beach, with Chikane holding the golden-haired girl in her arms. "I just want you to know... that it is... the same with me. Because... you are... special to me... too." Himeko raised a hand as though she wanted to touch Chikane's cheek. Half way up, the hand dropped to the girl's side, her eyes drew shut, and her head fell limply against Chikane's chest.

_"No! Himeko!" _Chikane screamed, feeling pain tearing at her heart. _"No!"_

* * *

Nekoko scratched the side of her face uneasily while watching the Priestess of the Moon cry her heart out at the unconscious Priestess of the Sun in her arms. The girl was overreacting. A glance told Nekoko that the golden-haired girl only passed out from the gash Arashigumo's edge had inflicted on her back. She had not died yet. Well, she probably _would_ after a while due to serious blood loss but... Nekoko's fingers seized a handful of her hair in frustration. _This is bad, really bad, _she thought worriedly. 

The worst thing about this situation was that Nekoko had absolutely no idea as to what she should do next. Yesterday morning, when the first light of dawn rose above the sea of clouds, the Lord Orochi had summoned all Seven Heads to the Audience Chamber and gave them the order that the Priestesses were not to be harmed _unless stated otherwise later._

And Nekoko just had to go against it shortly afterwards. Well, she did not mean to, really, as she only wished to learn how the Priestess of the Moon snapped Suikyou the Water Blade into two, something even the other Heads were incapable of. What she had originally planned to do was pushing Himemiya Chikane to the brink between life and death, at which humans usually unleashed their full power in the hope of survival. The only thing that unraveled her scheme completely was her foolish underestimate of the Priestess of the Sun. Nekoko never thought that such a milksop could break free from the bindings of Arashigumo the Wind Blade and took in the attack in Himemiya's stead.

And if she died... Nekoko shivered. No master liked to see servants disobeying his orders. Should worse come to worse, probably the Lord would not let her keep her whole hide after this. Well, she guessed she could exert Arashigumo's Healing power upon the wounded girl and undo the injuries but... but... who had ever heard of a villain rescuing her mortal enemy? Were she to do that, the Priestesses would grow suspicious as hell for sure. She could not even imagine what was going to happen after that. She had the feeling she wanted to tear her hair out...

Thunder roared above her head.

Cold sweat rolled down Nekoko's back as she looked up. High in the sky, Oogami Souma the Seventh Head was standing, eyes glaring daggers down at Nekoko, knuckles going white around his Raien the Sealed Sword. As purple lightning flared from the thing, Arashigumo in Nekoko's hand trembled, its power dwindling along with her own. The Voice of Sorrow was taking effect. She must leave here, fast!

Channeling the rest of her diminished power into Arashigumo, Nekoko opened a communication channel from here into the Audience Chamber of the Orochi Lord. In her current state, she did not have enough strength to weave a Dimensional Portal to aid her escape so... she must ask for _its_ help. From above, Oogami Souma rushed toward her.

"Awaken from the depth of the twilight," Nekoko chanted hurriedly, "Lord of the Shadows, Tasogare!"

A column of darkness rushed upward from beneath her feet. Still, Oogami was too fast. The boy's sword still managed to make a gash upon her right arm before the column completely engulfed her and transported her away. _You shall pay for this, Seventh Head, _she thought angrily. He would!

* * *

Carried in the Goddess of the Sun's arms, who was floating high in the darkening sky, Yue looked down at what was happening upon the sandy beach while tears threatened to well up in her eyes. Down there, the Orochi boy was taking a limp Himeko away from little Chikane's arms, seemingly by force. Even after Oogami Souma had opened a Dimensional Portal leading back to the Shingetsu Grand Shrine, where skilled healers lived, and vanished into it, the blue-haired girl never got back on her feet. She just stayed there, crying silently while the rising tide brushed against her feet. 

"Bring me down there, please, Yui," Yue pleaded the golden-haired woman.

"Are you sure, Yue-chan?" the Goddess of the Sun hesitated. "We are forbidden from making direct contact with them. Besides, she no longer remembers being your daughter."

"I do not care," Yue sobbed, burying her face in the woman's chest, hands fastening on her lapels. "Just bring me to her." She only wished the Seal Yuusaku had cast on her was not so strong. She only wished she did not have to beg Yui for a favor. This was not supposed to happen at all.

"Very well, then," Yui nodded, a sigh escaping her lips.

The Goddess of the Sun started her descent. A second later, she halted dead in her track. Looking around, Yue found her heart rising in her throat upon realizing that the two of them were now surrounded by a group of at least a hundred Immortals, each and every single one of them in shining armors and armed with either lances or swords. About half of them wore red cloaks, the rest blue.

There was no mistake. They were from the First and Second Imperial Battalions, strongest of all the Gods. Worse, the two men who led them were Heaven's High Commanders, Yue and Yui's younger siblings. Kagutsuchi the God of Fire, his long hair burning like any living flame, stood in front of the red-cloaked men while Susanou the God of Storms, short black hair framing a face so handsome he would make any other man look a pebble next to a precious stone, in front of the blue-cloaked. Both of them were _not_ looking at Yue, guilt evident in their downcast eyes.

"Yui-nee-san, Yue-nee-san," Susanou said quietly after a while, "we have come here, under Father's command, to take you back to the Palace."

"Please go with us in peace, Yui-nee, Yue-nee," Kagutsuchi said, dry-washing in hands in anxiety. The surrounding men eyed Yui and Yue with a great deal of interest, and to a lesser extent, unease. They were soldiers, and they knew battles, so they were fully aware of the fact that should a fight broke out, a good number would end up dead before Yui and Yue could be defeated. But that would never happen now would it? The Lord of Heaven knew that Yui and Yue would never harm their brothers... He _already_ knew they would return without protest.

"What is it you wish for, Yue-chan?" Yui whispered in her ears. The soldiers of the Battalions shifted, seemingly more than ready to attack. Yue did not have a doubt that they would as soon as Yui lifted a finger.

"Let us come back, as Father has decreed, then." Yue sighed.

"Very well," Yui nodded, and the men heaved in unison sighs of relief. It seemed they were much more uneasy than they had let their faces show.

Quietly, Susanou and Kagutsuchi opened a Dimensional Portal back to the heart of Heaven, Izumo. After glancing toward a stunned Chikane down at the beach one last time, Yue closed her eyes, feeling tears streaming down her cheeks. Crying silently in Yui's warm and gentle embrace, she was only dimly aware that not even once had her brothers offered to take her away from Yui while they knew more than anyone how hostile Yue always acted toward the Goddess of the Sun.


	5. The second the world ends

_**EPISODE FOUR: THE SECOND THE WORLD ENDS.**_

* * *

Oogami Souma pressed the red button on the machine placed on the large door of Himemiya Mansion. "This is Himemiya residence, how may I help you?" announced a female's voice that was flat, emotionless, and little short of being rude. Souma frowned. For a family as prominent as the Himemiya, this surely was unexpected. He didn't care if this anonymous woman was in a sour mood, or had sore teeth, or both, it was her job to greet the guests and do it with sufficient courtesy. 

Stuffing his irritation into some corner of his mind, he answered with a voice suitable for what the students of Ototachibana had been calling him, the young master of Shingetsu Grand Shrine, "Good morning. I'm Oogami Souma from Ototachibana Academy and Kurusugawa-san's acquaintance. I'd like to speak with her, please."

"Kurusugawa Himeko-sama? Is she the one?" For reasons incomprehensible, the woman's voice suddenly grew spiky and hot enough to boil any kettle. Most notably, the honorific "-_sama_" following Himeko's name was invested with so much scorn and hate that Souma could have sworn the woman was speaking of someone who had slain her family. He blinked. The golden-haired girl had always been a sweet, adorable person. She couldn't have made an enemy two days after moving in here, now could she?

"Well?" the woman demanded.

"She is the one," Souma answered, feeling his irritation welling up. The more he heard this hateful voice, the less he liked it.

"Very well," the woman said. "I shall inform her of your visit. Please wait."

"Thank you," Souma replied courteously. Of course, he was definitely not going to sink to the woman's level. "But before you go," he added, "would you tell me your name?" Himemiya was going to hear about her disrespectful employee from him sooner or later, this he would make sure of.

"I am..." the voice hesitated. "Kisaragi Otoha, the Head Maid." A sudden beeping sound told Souma that the woman had already departed.

He found himself at a loss for words. He had thought that it was some ignorant maid who had spoken to him. He never expected the equivalent of a steward in a wealthy family. What could Himeko have done to the woman, he wondered?

* * *

In front of the large mirror Kurusugawa Himeko stood, her body naked except for her underwear, her back facing the shiny surface, her head turned aside, her teeth chewing on her underlip. As usual, her room, located in the west wing of the Himemiya Mansion, was filled with the bright light of the early morning sun, the harmonious and pleasant songs of the birds, and the wonderful fragrance of the roses planted in the vast back garden. Yet, instead of marveling to them like she always did, she only stared grimly at the upper portion of her back reflected in the mirror, where she could see a part of a dark mark. She didn't have to see the whole thing to know that it stretched from her left shoulder all the way to her right waist. It was what remained of a sword wound... and she could still remember the pain that had ravaged her when the tip of that horrible Sealed Sword Arashigumo parted her skin yesterday. Although more than a full day had passed, the memory refused to fade. Even now, it still itched as though a mosquito bite whenever she twitched. She shivered. 

The Elemental Blades were truly fearsome weapons, that she knew, but she hadn't ever been able to fathom the depth of their powers. She had a taste of one of those once before – and frightened silly by it – but she never thought that they could make wounds even the Priests couldn't heal completely. They had been very reluctant to admit to Himeko's face that the scar, however light it seemed on her skin, would never disappear. Not that she cared if it wouldn't. There was no point in griping about a silly little detail when her life could have been forfeited had it not been for those fatherly Priests... and Oogami Souma.

When Himeko first regained consciousness yesterday afternoon, in the very same room in which they put her two days ago, the High Priest Oogami Kazuki was the only one who sat by her mattress. Wanting to get up and offer him the common courtesy due a High Priest as she was, she hadn't been able to move a muscle. In a soft, soothing voice, he told her that she didn't have to, for her body was still very weak. The man then revealed that had his adopted brother delayed one step in bringing her to the Grand Shrine, she would have been beyond their help. She had lost too much blood, and the evil of the sword was eating at her wound. How she had sweated hearing that. And how she had been confused knowing that she owed her whole hide to none other than Oogami Souma.

How should Himeko behave in front of the boy now? He was an Orochi Follower who once attempted to kill her... but he just saved her life, she couldn't deny that. She was scared of him, the Gods of Heaven knew all too well how he and his monstrous Sword still haunted her sleep, but now she must do something to let him know that she was grateful. She would offer her gratitude to the boy, of course, but she had to find a way to do so in front of him without thinking how much she wanted to run away.

Himeko sighed. What a fine mess she was in.

After a quick glance at the grandfather clock, made so that it wouldn't strike the hours lest it disturb her rest, Himeko realized that it wouldn't be long until school started. She opened her wardrobe, took out her Ototachibana uniform, and started putting it on. As soon as she was done, she heard a knock on her door.

"It is I, Himeko," the voice of Himeko's princess spoke softly. "May I come in?"

Her heart fluttered.

"Please do," Himeko answered once she had looked herself up and down in the mirror to make sure she looked presentable to the one she loved.

The door, made from the finest wood, opened and admitted the Himemiya Ojou-sama, who was properly dressed in the red and white uniform of Ototachibana Academy. At the sight of her beautiful face, Himeko's pulse quickened. Despite the fact that they had been meeting every day during the last year, Himeko had never been able to slow or soften the pounding of her heart whenever she set her eyes upon the blue-haired princess.

During the conversation with Oogami-sensei yesterday, Himeko had noticed that the more she listened to him, the more tired she became, the harder she had to try to keep her attention from slipping away, and the less sense he made. She apologized to him for that, but the High Priest only smiled indulgently and explained that both the wound and the healing the Priests had performed did put a great strain on her body. It was only demanding to rest, the man added. He left afterwards, allowing Himeko to drift to a dreamless slumber. When she opened her eyes again, it was already past midnight. She was lying in her bed, in her own room in the Himemiya Mansion, then... and she hadn't been alone. The blue-haired princess was sitting on a chair by the bed, both of her hands holding one of Himeko's, eyes tired, face painted with worries. Oh how the blue-haired girl's concerned expression and the warmth of her hands had melted Himeko's heart.

_"Chikane-chan," Himeko called softly and attempted to sit up straight. To her relief, her body let her move as she wished. To her shock, pain swept out from her back half way rising up. She had to grind her teeth together to smother the howl that erupted from the pit of her stomach. Strength unraveling, she fell back down upon the bed. Her drop, however softened by the fine mattress and however brief, sent lightning bolts along her muscles and nerves and made her wish she had stayed put in the first place. Her vacant hand gripping her bed linen, her teeth rounding on her lower lip, her eyes drawn shut, she waited for the pain to subside. _

_"Are you alright, Himeko?" the princess let out a small cry, her hands tightening around Himeko's. _

_"I don't think I am," Himeko muttered breathlessly and grimaced at the lingering painful sensation. _

_"Does it still hurt a lot?" Chikane-chan said quietly as she moved one of her hand to Himeko's head and stroked it in a very gentle manner. Himeko glanced at her target of affection, feeling her cheeks warming up at the caress of the princess's hand, sensing her heart throbbing inside her chest at the Himemiya Ojou-sama's hurt expression. Were the girl to lie down next to Himeko, no one would be able to tell which of them was suffering from a sword wound on her back. It happened whenever Himeko was injured, as a matter of fact. During those times, she was under the impression that whatever pain was inflicted on her, Chikane-chan felt twice as much. She could only hope that it meant what she wanted it to. _

_"Yeah," she answered honestly. "It does." _

_"Try to sleep then, Himeko," Chikane-chan said, her voice even gentler than her hand. "The High Priest told me that being a Priestess did gift you with a certain amount of self-healing power. You will get better tomorrow, I am sure." _

_"Okay." Himeko nodded. She would have done as Chikane-chan wished, she would have closed her eyes and let sleep take her away, had she not noticed that the blue-haired girl was holding her hand as tightly as ever, not giving out any sign that she was going to let it go. _

_"How long have I been home, Chikane-chan?" she asked. _

_"A few hours," the princess answered. "I had intended to leave you in the care of the Priests," the grudging note in her voice surely indicated that she didn't _want_ to, "but Oogami Kazuki said that I could bring you back, for there was nothing else they could offer you in the way of healing. Great care was all you need, he assured me. After that, Oogami Souma opened a Portal to this very room with his Sword," her face hardened, her mouth twisted in distaste around the boys _name_ and the word _Sword_, "and put you in your bed." _

_"Have you been staying with me the whole time?" Himeko asked again, voice quiet. _

_"Of course," Chikane-chan said just as softly. "I do not know healing, so watching over you is the only thing I can manage." _

_"Are you going to sit there until I wake up in the morning as well?" _

_"Is it a bad thing?" _

_"Yeah." Himeko nodded. "I don't want you to exhaust yourself this way, Chikane-chan. So, would you come back to your room and rest? Please?" Had it been possible, Himeko would have liked to have Chikane-chan sleep on this very bed with her. But it wasn't, really. The blue-haired girl would end up pretending to sleep and continuing to watch over Himeko. That, evidently, she didn't want. _

_"What if you wanted something while I was not by your side?" the Himemiya Ojou-sama said in exasperation. "What if you wished for water, or someone to help you to the restroom? What if..." She would have gone on and listed a hundred more of what Himeko could possibly need if Himeko hadn't chuckled and signaled for the girl to stop. _

_"I think this still works, Chikane-chan," she said in amusement, her vacant hand gesturing at a red button attached to the portion of the wall above the headboard. It was a device that, if activated, would inform the maid currently on duty that Himeko was requesting assistance. _

_Chikane-chan fell silent. Himeko guessed that the girl was trying to find an excuse to stay. She didn't seem like she was going to find any, though. _

_"Besides," Himeko decided to forestall her beloved housemate, "I wont be able to sleep knowing that you aren't resting in your own bed, Chikane-chan. You don't want both of us to collapse come the morning, ne?" _

_That did the trick, for the princess sighed and nodded. _

_"Goodnight, then, Himeko," the blue-haired girl said in resignation as she tucked Himeko's hand under the blanket and rose to her feet. Himeko suppressed a sigh. Determined as she was to see Chikane-chan have her overdue rest, she couldn't help but become quite saddened when the pressure of the princess's hand vanished. The bed linen, finer than the best silk Himeko ever had the chance to examine, felt rough compared to the princess's skin. The little heat the blanket offered was but feeble compared to the flame that was the blue-haired girls touch. _

_"Goodnight, Chikane-chan," Himeko replied, trying not to sound regretful. She barely succeeded. _

_The Himemiya Ojou-sama didn't leave right away. She stood motionlessly at the edge of the bed for a moment, appearing quite hesitant, before she bent over and offered Himeko a light, gentle kiss on her forehead. "May sweet dreams favor you, my dearest friend," the other girl whispered and walked out of the room, leaving Himeko blushing furiously and wondering if she could get Chikane-chan to do the same thing every night. _

"Morning, Chikane-chan," Himeko greeted the love of her life warmly.

"Good morning, Himeko," Chikane-chan said in a quiet voice. "Are you well?"

"As well as I can be." Himeko laughed. Last night she had thought that she would still be bed-ridden for another day. She surely didn't expect to be able to move around as though she had never been hurt. She guessed she got to be thankful that she was a Priestess, then... although she had to admit that if she weren't one, she wouldn't have gotten into this mess in the first place. "How about you?"

"I am well," the princess answered. "May I have a few words with you before we leave for school?"

"Of course," Himeko said in a cheerful tone. "Have a seat, Chikane-chan." She gestured toward the couch nearby. "Would you like something to drink? I have milk, soda, and juice in the fridge."

"No, thank you," the princess declined politely as she settled herself gracefully upon the couch. Himeko sat down next to the blue-haired girl, awfully conscious of the fact that she had allowed very little room between their shoulders. A while back, she would have made sure they were at least an arm's length apart. Now... she only wanted to be as close to her sweetheart as possible and dignity be hanged. She had grown too fond of the physical intimacy, she supposed.

"What do you want to talk about?" Himeko asked the light of her heart.

"Actually, I'd like something from you," replied the Himemiya Ojou-sama.

"What is it?" Himeko smiled.

"A promise," Chikane-chan said softly. "I would like you to promise me that you will never again put yourself in harm's way, regardless of any possible reason."

Himeko blinked and became puzzled for a few seconds before she understood what the blue-haired girl just said.

"You meant what happened between me and the Orochi," she murmured softly, almost to herself. She very nearly smiled.

"Yes, that." Chikane-chan nodded. "Will you give me your word on it?"

Himeko blinked again. During the last year they had been together, the blue-haired princess never once asked for any sort of favor. Now, her voice had taken on a beseeching tone, and her eyes, gemstones under the glorious sunlight, were begging Himeko to say yes. She had never seen her beloved this way before... Oh Gods of Heaven standing witness, there was nothing Himeko had that she wouldn't give to the other girl if she but asked. Himeko opened her mouth... and found herself on the verge of doing exactly what the Himemiya Ojou-sama wished her to. Hastily, she snapped her mouth shut with an audible click of her teeth. It was Chikane-chan's turn to blink at Himeko in surprise.

Himeko sighed. "Would you tell me why first?" she asked.

"Do you really have to ask?" Chikane-chan's hand rose and placed itself upon Himeko's cheek. It was as warm and soft as it ever was. "You almost lost your life yesterday."

Himeko was both touched and amused. She was willing to wager all the money she had in her bank account that the princess didn't realize just exactly whom she sounded like.

_"You said that as if it was a bad thing."_ Himeko smiled at her secret crush and put her hand atop that of the princess, pressing it more firmly against the side of her face. It was the exact same statement that the blue-haired princess had uttered to comfort Himeko after she berated herself for letting harm befall her sweetheart. Himeko did a perfect imitation of the other girl's tone and voice, if she were to say so herself.

"It was!" the princess insisted. Then her hand dropped from Himeko's face and her cheeks went crimson. She had finally realized it.

"Do you mean to tell me that it was perfectly okay for you to risk your life to protect mine but not the reverse, Chikane-chan?" Himeko asked. "If you can give me a good reason for that, I'll give you my promise immediately."

The blue-haired princess only sat there with her back straight as a lamp post, confusion and embarrassment warring across her lovely face. More than once she opened her lovely mouth as if to speak, then firmly closed it with a snap a second later. Himeko smiled, thinking to herself that she had posed a question to which the princess could never find an answer.

"Well, perhaps you thought that I was too much of a weakling, who needed protection at all time?" Himeko offered after a few minutes without any reply from the Himemiya princess.

The blue-haired girl shook her head.

"Then was it because you believed I was too clumsy to lend you any kind of help? Perhaps because you didn't need someone like me to watch your back?" Himeko had to admit that what she said was rather mean. The other girl couldn't have even thought of those things, judging by the shocked look she gave in response. Well, although Himeko loved her with all her heart, she had to make sure that the blue-haired girl knew that Himeko was serious about this issue.

"No!" Chikane-chan declared. "Where could you have gotten such a notion?"

"Then why?"

Another moment of silence ensued until the princess decided to speak, "Because I do not want you to get hurt. Because I think your life is much more important than mine." She trembled as though she had stripped herself bare in the heart of winter. Quietly and gently, Himeko wrapped her arms around Chikane-chan's back and hugged her. She wouldn't have had enough courage to attempt this two days ago, obviously, but after what had happened between them, after the intimacy they had shared during that short amount of time, she had learned that showing some affection to the love of her life wasn't that hard. Compared to giving the other girl three kisses for her birthday present, a hug wasn't much.

Still, Himeko couldn't help but feel her heart race.

"I think the same way, Chikane-chan," she murmured into the Himemiya Ojou-sama's shoulder. "Please understand. You are my most precious friend, someone I consider a blessing from the Gods. I treasure you so dearly I can't stand the idea that you wanted me to do nothing but watch while you fought for my safety. I don't like that at all." The princess put her gentle arms around Himeko and pulled her a little bit closer. The blue-haired girl, too, has a heart pulse quick enough to beat a horse. Himeko could feel it. She could _hear_ it. "Besides, you _need_ me," Himeko continued, smiling inwardly at the word upon which she had placed such a subtle stress. She only hoped Chikane-chan needed Himeko in the same way Himeko did her. "I'm _still_ the Priestess of the Sun. Although I don't have much power right now, at least allow me to help you keep both of us safe, Chikane-chan."

The princess's arms tightened around Himeko as the girl whispered in a soft and affectionate voice, "It is you who is the blessing the Gods have bestowed upon me, Himeko." There was nothing Himeko could have said in response to that, so she only smiled while her own cheeks grew warmer and warmer.

"I am sorry, Himeko, for being such an ungrateful lout," Chikane-chan said ruefully. "You saved my life, yet I had done nothing but saying inconsiderate things to you."

"I don't mind." Himeko gave the Himemiya Ojou-sama another tight hug and a gentle pat on the girl's back. "You were only worried for my sake. If anything, I'm only touched by your... consideration, Chikane-chan."

"You are most kind, Himeko," the princess murmured.

Perhaps Chikane-chan thought it was time to let go, she unwrapped her arms from Himeko's back and let them fall to her own sides. The beautiful Ojou-sama, however, went slightly red in her face when she noticed that Himeko didn't show any sign of removing her arms.

"Ne, Chikane-chan," Himeko called softly. "Do you remember what you told me yesterday, before that Orochi woman showed up?" Her face was as hot as any oven. She remembered Chikane-chan's every word... She had asked the girl why she was so fixated on protecting Himeko of all the people in the world. _"Because you are special,"_ the other girl had whispered while leaning in as though wanting to give Himeko a kiss on the lips. At least that was what Himeko thought the girl would do before the Third Head of the Orochi waltzed in and ruined the moment. Himeko didn't think she could ever forgive Hibiki Shizuku for that.

"I do," Chikane-chan answered quite stiffly, apparently as close to the verge of panic as Himeko had ever seen her. Himeko but wondered how she had managed that. "What of it?"

"You told me you wished to protect me because I was special," Himeko whispered softly, her mouth savoring every word. "You were about to say something else, too, before the Orochi cut you short. What was it?" Looking up at her beloved one, she quietly marveled at the color that was dying the blue-haired girl's face beet red. Could there be any other girl in this planet who was as adorable as her beloved princess here, she wondered?

Chikane-chan's mouth slightly opened as she leaned in, her natural fragrance rose inside Himeko's nose, stronger than ever. Himeko watched as the princess's mouth began to form the words. No sound had come yet, but somehow, Himeko could hear the phrase _"because I love you"_ whispering inside her mind. Her sweetheart did seem as though she was going to say exactly that. Her whole self brimming with happiness, Himeko closed her eyes and lifted her head, feeling the girl's breaths caressing her face. In the manga she had read, a kiss would almost always be granted in this kind of situation. So she waited for her most important person's lips...

... which never touched hers.

"Kurusugawa-sama," Kisaragi Otoha's voice called suddenly. The woman was standing at the door to Himeko's room, which she forgot to close and lock when Chikane-chan came in earlier, with a face that could have been carved from ice and a gaze that was as sharp as any razor. Then Himeko noticed what the Head Maid was looking at. Of course, she still had her arms around the young mistress of the Mansion, their faces but inches apart. It was a situation most people would name _compromising. _

With a loud squeak, Himeko literally jumped away from Chikane-chan, face a roaring furnace. Why couldn't she remember to lock the darned door? The blue-haired princess, on the other hand, sat motionless on the couch as she studied the Head Maid with an ominous expression on her lovely face.

Deafening silence ensued.

"Is there... something you want to tell me, Otoha-san?" Himeko asked as she sighed to herself afterwards. Why would people keep interrupting her? First the Orochi woman, now the Head Maid. Did they harbor some kind of grudge against her?

"You have a visitor, Kurusugawa-sama," the young woman announced. "A boy by the name of Oogami Souma. Your acquaintance, he claimed to be."

Chikane-chan's face turned unreadable all of a sudden... and Himeko found herself groaning inwardly in exasperation. What did the boy come here for? And why did he _have_ to choose this particular morning to do so?

* * *

Sitting on one of the comfortable couches in the Main Hall of the Himemiya Mansion, Oogami Souma wasn't exactly happy. 

Well, sure, his heart had leapt into his throat and bliss had rose in his soul the moment he caught sight of the slender figure of Kurusugawa Himeko, who was descending upon the large, winding stone flight of stairs bridging the first and the second floor. However, she wasn't alone. Walking by her side was the daughter of the Himemiya, whose blank face he could have sworn was carved out of rock. The very sight of the rich girl, whom those witless students named Miya-sama and worshipped like a real Goddess, soured his stomach. Before the incident on Himeko's birthday, which also happened to be Himemiya's, they had been rivals. Now, they were short of open enemies, especially after the girl had declared that she would kill him if he harmed the golden-haired girl. Well... the rich girl didn't really say that right out but her sharp and icy voice implied as much. The girl knew nothing about Souma. _As if _he could bring himself to hurt a strand of hair on Himeko's head...

He swept his gaze from Himemiya's emotionless face, however pleasing it was to his eyes, to that of Himeko, the girl he loved. It pained him greatly to look at her, despite the fact that she held his heart, for all he could see was a girl whose eyes were filled with the image of none other than the one she secretly called Chikane-chan, her housemate. Of course, during the whole time they were walking down the stairs, Himeko kept giving the other girl furtive glances as though she couldn't get enough of her. And the _warmth_ that was radiating from her heart, picked up by his Orochi mind, told him that he had the truth of it.

Souma grimaced. He had known from two days ago that Himeko harbored a lot of affection toward the Himemiya girl. It wouldn't be an overstatement to say that the golden-haired girl liked the blue-haired one as much as any of the idiots in the Fanatic Trio. _More_. His Orochi supernatural instincts informed Souma that whenever Himeko glanced at her... housemate, fire would blossom in her heart in a way that did nothing to improve Souma's mood. Too bad his ability didn't let him delve too far into another's soul. Powerful as he was, he could only sense people's moods and no more. He couldn't read minds, nor could he learn the secrets one hid in the darkest depths of their hearts. He wished he could... though. He would have paid much of what he owned to learn just exactly how much Himemiya Chikane meant to the girl he loved. That would give him an edge in a battle he couldn't afford losing...

Souma sighed inwardly. No use wishing for things beyond his capabilities now. He should spend his time and energy on more realistic and achievable goals instead. After all... weren't they what he came here for this morning?

"Morning, Oogami-kun," Himeko smiled at Souma once she settled upon the couch opposite his. He almost winced at the fear he sensed wrapping around the girl's heart. She was still very much afraid of him.

"Welcome to the Himemiya Mansion, Oogami-san," Himemiya said in a quiet voice and with a slight incline of her head. Was it disappointment he just glimpsed in her sapphire eyes and irritation he sensed in her heart? "Please enjoy your stay."

The rich girl then bent over to whisper something into Himeko's ear. Perhaps she thought that the distance between her and Souma was enough to muffle any sound, or that her voice was too low to carry. Whatever she thought, she was wrong. Souma could hear every word so clearly that he could have sworn it was his ear into which she was whispering. _"Do not take too long, Himeko," _Himemiya had said, _"school awaits. Come straight to the car when you are done."_

"Sure, Chikane-chan." Himeko smiled sweetly at the rich girl while the latter walked toward the doors, held open by two solemn-faced maids. The expression on the golden-haired girl's face irked him no end.

_What's with the longing look, Himeko?_ he thought. _It's not like you're not going to see her again. _

"Oogami-kun," Himeko called. Her voice was neutral but her heart, quivering with growing fear, belied her calmness. "Um... thank you for saving my life yesterday," she said, trying to sound more cheerful. Well, she did mean what she said, for he could sense the sincerity in her words. Still... he knew for a fact that in her eyes, he was more like a monster than her savior. Souma sighed.

"No need for that," he said. "But why _Oogami-kun_? That wasn't what you called me when we were little, Hime-sama."

Her amethyst eyes, lovely and bright, went as wide as they could. "Sou... chan?" she muttered in disbelief.

"Your loyal Knight at your service, Hime-sama" Souma said as she got down on one knee in front of the girl he loved. He had never wanted to reveal this. He had never intended to let Himeko learn who he truly was. Yet, his being an Orochi Follower and her being a Priestess were putting more and more distance between them. There was no other way to bridge that... He didn't have a choice.

* * *

Standing in front of her window, Yue swept her silver gaze across the vast land upon which the Holy City was situated. As her room was on the highest level of the Tower of Crescents – a part of the Heavenly Palace, which was built atop a high hill at the very center of Heaven – she commanded a view of at least half of Izumo, and would the other half, too, if she opened the window on the other side of the room. She supposed many people would marvel at the size of the great city of Immortals, at the beauty of its castles, at the luxuriant groves and richly colorful gardens arranged in an eye-pleasing pattern around the city, and at the grandeur that was the Heavenly Palace. What she saw, unfortunately, was a prison. Humongous and beautiful, perhaps, but it was still a prison all the same. And instead of having steel bars to confine people, the Holy City had the Kusanagi Pillars, which were infinitely worse. 

Yue's silver eyes narrowed in distaste when they set upon the black metal obelisks standing at the edge of Izumo. There were twelve of them, similar to one another like raindrops and as deadly as they were huge. Constructed three thousand years ago at an imperial command from the Lord of Heaven himself, the Kusanagi Pillars had been looming over Izumo and standing as a symbol of terror and disgust. Yue could still remember the uproar her Father had caused when he announced that he was going to build the _Kusanagi_ _System_, which he assured the public that it was only meant for self-defense and no more. True, the twelve obelisks had been erected in the fear that war was going to break out between Heaven and the Underworld... but the Immortals in this City knew better. The Kusanagi Pillars were still weapons, and nothing Izanagi said could convince his subjects otherwise. Having these oversized needles surrounding Izumo was almost akin to having a blade bared at every God or Goddess's throat. They did not like that, of course, so they tried to prevent the construction from happening, so they howled and raged in front of the Heavenly Palace, yet they fell silent as soon as the final Tower was completed. They all realized that should they voice another word of protest, they would run the risk of being deep fried by the lightning of the Kusanagi System.

_And here dwell its makers,_ Yue thought in disgust as her eyes found a tall castle sitting at the northern end of the Ama no Ukihashi Boulevard. It was Heaven's one and only Science Institute, headquarters to Izumo's infamous R&D Division, where the worst crooks in all the Three Worlds worked and lived. The castle was as beautiful as any other in the Holy City, indeed, yet a look at it sickened her no end. She averted her gaze lest the sight of the castle empty her stomach.

Yue had always hated the Holy Messengers but even those nosey, obnoxious, and insolent egomaniacs seemed innocent lambs besides the White Robes, the name with which the researchers styled themselves. Of course, insufferable as the Messengers were, they never designed murder's weapons as fearsome as the Kusanagi Pillars, they never made a God whose mind was so pure his heart convulsed with every life he took, they never invented a spell so vicious it tortured a girl's soul for three millennia, and certainly the Messengers never created the Tower of Kannazuki to imprison the Priestesses of the Sun and Moon. The White Robes did all of that... and took no punishments for their heinous crimes. How much more unfair could this world get, she wondered...

Yue closed her window and walked to a chair at the center of the room, where she sat down in a slump. She hated this city. She hated the Tower of Crescents. She hated most people she met, especially the Lord of Heaven, her adopted father, in front of whom the people of the Three Worlds cowered on their knees and to whom they wished the most gruesome fate in their hearts. Truth be told, she had spent _less_ than twenty-four hours here during the last three millennia, and that was because she was _ordered_ to come back. Had she had her ways, she would never have set foot into Izumo for the rest of her natural life, which meant _forever_. Of course, she would rather spend her all her nights on some tree branch in the garden of the Himemiya than rest her back one second on this room's fine futon mattress. At least in the Himemiya Mansion she could watch over the children she so dearly cherished. Here, only tedious boredom awaited her. That, and the sight of one single person she wanted to avoid, Amaterasu, nicknamed Yui, the Sun Goddess, who was honored as the most beautiful woman in the Three Worlds.

Yue's mouth tightened. Thoughts of Yui always irritated her. She would have left the Heavenly Palace as soon as she stepped one step into it. She would have departed for the Human World, where she could protect her children from the shadows... but she could not. The freedom she used to have had been taken away, all her privileges revoked. Now, she was but a little bird in a cage, unable to fly to where she wanted to be most. She sighed. Why did this have to happen to her?

"Tsukiyomi-sama," a man's voice, cool and deep, called outside her door, "the Lord sends for you. Please come with me immediately."

"Very well," Yue answered and walked to the shoji door. When she opened it, she saw three men, whose white capes bore the golden pentagrams of the Holy Messengers, whose faces were so cold they could have been carved from winter stones, whose eyes were aglow with hatred. Since yesterday, they had looked at her the same way every time she saw them.

_It was not I who tortured your Chief, _she thought irritably._ It was not I who made your colleagues bedridden. _All of those had been Yui's works, not hers. Yet, Yue was the one who received all the blame in the end, for reasons Yue failed to grasp. She sighed. But oh well, Yui did what she did for Yue's sake, so she could tolerate this at the very least, she supposed.

"Shall we?" the man in the middle said, his hand gesturing brusquely toward a Dimensional Portal he had opened ahead of time. Yue nodded, strode forward, and entered the silvery surface. She almost heaved a sigh of relief a heartbeat later, when she found herself standing under a spacious hallway, right in front of her Father's study, not the Sanctum Core. The latter had forever been a place she wanted to avoid at all cost, one she dreaded as much as the Kusanagi Pillars. There were secrets she had to keep. There was a person's safety she meant to guard until the end of time. For that, she could not afford to obey a summons from the Celestial Assembly. Should worse come to worst, she would kill herself before she let them learn what lay in the darkest depths of her heart.

"Now is this the Heavenly Palace or a rowdy marketplace?" muttered the man who had come to the Tower of Crescents to deliver the Lord's summons. He was standing behind her, scowling darkly at something to his right. Turning her head, Yue found three people, who were leaning their backs against a wall and chatting excitedly.

The first one on the right was the tallest of the bunch, Kagutsuchi the God of Fire, a man of great height and muscles, whose hair was a mane of living flames. Short-tempered, violent, impatient, the lad tended to think with his biceps instead of his brain. There was nothing he loved more than duels, especially ones where either or both of the parties ended up lying unconsciously on the ground, preferably with a few bones broken or an arm or a leg twisted off. Had it not been for the fact that Heaven's Healing Technologies were so advanced replacing limbs was but a piece of cake, the kid would have crippled half of Izumo's population.

Still, despite all these flaws, Kagutsuchi was ever one with a great sense of justice and chivalry. Sure, he challenged other Gods to duels all the time but he would walk away as soon as his opponent refused. He was strong, but he never looked down on the weak or bullied them. He just wished to grow stronger by battling the strongest he could find, that was all. To Kagutsuchi's disappointment, he had not been succeeding in finding worthy opponents in Izumo of late. Probably the other Gods of Heaven had realized that they could not beat him. If that was the case, Yue would be very glad. The kid might have enjoyed being hurt by other people... but Yue surely did not.

The one in the middle was a man whose face, framed by short, glossy dark hair, was so pretty it almost bordered on femininity. Although he was taller than most men, he stood only to the chest of his blood brother Kagutsuchi. The Goddesses of Heaven never minded that little detail. Yue knew for a certainty that in their eyes, Susanou the God of Storms was as tall as any man could be, and Kagutsuchi could have been a dwarf. But of course, the kid was ever Heaven's beloved, to whom every female Immortal wished to present her heart, hoping fervently that he would accept it. Too bad, he refused to take any of them as his girlfriend regardless of how pretty they were. When Yue asked him why, Susanou answered that he had no use for simpering women who were sorely lacking in the way of wits.

_"But little brother, was it not you who tangled theirs?"_ she had told him once. He only laughed and declared that he had no need for weak-minded girls, either. Yue would pay any price to see him fallen head over heels in love for once. The kid would do well to learn how it felt exactly to have his mind befuddled and his eyes blinded by love. Then perhaps he would begin to treat other girls more kindly.

Yue's gaze slid from Susanou's stunning face to the one to his left, which happened to be Yui, who was half a head shorter than the God of Storms. As ever, the golden-haired woman did not show an inch of skin beneath her face. Instead of her usual high-collared, long-sleeved coat and denim trousers, today the woman wore a long-sleeved white dress, which was accompanied by a black scarf around her neck and white gloves covering her hands. Yue sometimes found herself wondering how Yui, the famous hygiene maniac of Heaven, had survived the heat of Onogoro's summers.

The three of them were blood siblings, with Yui being the eldest, and the two kids twins. Well, sure, they all looked people in their mid-twenties, but Yue and Yui were both six years older than the two men. Still... if one were to judge by the way Yui behaved, they would have sworn that the woman was the youngest. Yue could not blame them. After all, every Immortal of Heaven considered the Goddess of the Sun a spoiled, childish kid who refused to act her age. What kind of mature woman loved to pull tricks on other people and made fun of them at every chance she got anyway? A troublemaker to the bone, that was what Yui was.

Yet... Yue had learned yesterday that the Goddess of the Sun was more than just an overactive troublemaker. Truth be told, Yue still could not believe that the Yui she knew, always appearing cheerful, had a side Yue never knew of. The way the Goddess of the Sun had stood over Yuusaku's thrashing body, engulfed in golden flames that could not be put out, and watched the man with a face fit for cold-blooded murder scared even Yue herself. Even now, the memory still gave her the creeps.

"Yo, Yue-nee!" Kagutsuchi bellowed and waved his huge hand most emphatically as soon as he saw Yue walking toward him. Susanou, in contrast, contented himself with a solemn bow and a soft "Good day to you, Yue-nee-san." The boy was ever so polite, unlike his brute of a brother. As for Yui, Yue elected to ignore the woman's greeting and a wave of her hand. The Goddess of the Sun's dazzling smile, rumored to be able to bring a man to his knees, withered and died. If the woman thought that Yue would warm up to her just because of what she did yesterday, she was sorely mistaken.

"I see you are well, brothers," Yue said with a smile that did not include the golden-haired woman. If Kagutsuchi and Susanou noticed it, they did not show it.

"I'm well." Kagutsuchi's wide grin split his face into two. "Not so Susanou, though!" The handsome God of Storms grimaced.

"Must you blab it out to everybody in the Three Worlds before you stop, Kagutsuchi-san?" Susanou muttered. Yui, on the other hand, confined herself to a quiet laughter behind a gloved hand.

"Blab what?" Yue asked.

"Someone climbed into Susanou's bed last night." The God of Fire's roaring laughter boomed noisily in the hallway, which hardened the Holy Messenger's face to the point it could crack rocks. The man knew better than voicing his opinion, though. "Scared the heck out of him," the taller man added. Susanou clutched his forehead and sighed. Yui's laughter grew a little bit louder while Kagutsuchi's could not seem to stop. As to Yue, she found the corners of her mouth twitching.

"How?" She looked a question at Susanou. Her adopted little brother was a very careful man, so for a woman to be able to slip into his house unnoticed was well near impossible, let alone getting to his bed.

"I spent most of my time yesterday working in the Memories Hall, so I was rather tired," Susanou explained as a faint color crept onto his cheeks. "When I got home, I went straight to bed without remembering to lock the doors, so..."

Susanou had no idea how difficult it was for Yue to keep her face straight while trying to hold her mirth in check. She pressed her lips together, hard.

"And stop laughing, will you?" the God of Storms rounded on his brother and sister, his usual unruffled serenity no where in sight.

"Did she manage to do anything _indecent_ to you?" Yue coughed into her hand to hide the smile on her lips. That invoked an even greater roar of laughter from the God of Fire. The Goddess of the Sun, on the other hand, started pounding her gloved fist on the wall behind her and laughed as hard as she could. Susanou, meanwhile, turned redder than a ripe tomato.

"Who... ever... said... it was... a _she_?" the flame-haired God managed between fits of laughter.

"A... man?" Yue said, her whole body quivering. It would not do to laugh. It would not do! But really, Susanou was not helping the way he ground his teeth together in great indignation.

"Apparently, that man, whoever he was, thought that since Susanou never returned those women's feelings, perhaps he swung... a different way," Yui said, wheezing. "Too bad, our little brother didn't. Too bad, that guy was rather cute, I think." The golden-haired young woman winked at the God of Storms, who was determined to ignore it.

"Stop sulking, Susanou," Kagutsuchi guffawed at his brother. "It's your fault for being born so pretty that even a man wants you. Also your fault for being stupid enough to tell us in the first place."

"Quiet, you witless, uncouth, fire-breathing lizard!" Susanou snapped. The kid had lost his temper, something that Yue considered even rarer than a sun rising in the west.

"That's dragon for you, you illiterate spineless sea worm," Kagutsuchi replied, seemingly only more amused by the insult. "D-r-a-g-o-n," the God of Fire repeated. Kagutsuchi was the High Commander of the First Imperial Battalion, the sigil depicted on banner the banner of which was a dragon breathing fire. Susanou was of the Second, his sigil was a great sea serpent amidst storm clouds. Yue did not like the creature – she found its serpentine shape and venomous fangs very disgusting – but for some reason, Susanou was extremely fond of it. She never understood why.

"I shall take your tongue for that, you fire-juggling clown!" Susanou spat.

"Oh, wanna take it outside?" Kagutsuchi asked hopefully. Yue suddenly recalled that the kid just complained to her a few days ago that he had not had any good opponent in a long time. She grimaced. Susanou and Kagutsuchi were roughly of equal strength... which unfortunately was enough to ruin half of Izumo should a fight break out.

Well... Yue did not care if that was the case. In fact, she would be even gladder if somehow the Gods of Storms and Fire managed to reduce the whole city to rubbles. What she was afraid of was the possibility that her father the Lord would throw both of them into some prison cell and locked them up forever. True, they were his blood children, whose souls he Fragmented his very own to create, but it could not be denied that the same man had been imprisoning his youngest child for the last three thousand years. Who could say what he would do to Kagutsuchi and Susanou should they incur his wrath? Yue did not want to lose any more of her siblings...

"Cut it out, both of you," Yue raised her voice. "You are adults already, so act like one." The twins immediately fell silent and started taking up a serious study of the wooden floor, both of them looking terribly embarrassed. Yue allowed herself a satisfied nod. Kagutsuchi was a short fuse to a ton of firework, waiting to be ignited, and Susanou an egomaniac who looked down on almost everybody, but when Yue put her foot down, they would do as she wished without so much as a word of protest.

"Now, would you tell me why you are here?" Yue's silver eyes regarded each of the twins levelly.

Kagutsuchi scratched his head, Susanou glanced away, and Yui started to smile softly, almost to herself.

"Did father summon you, also?" she asked.

"Uh, no." Kagutsuchi shook his head. "He only sent for you and Yui-nee. Isn't that right, Susanou?"

"Indeed so," the shorter man answered.

Yue suddenly understood. But of course...

"You were worried for me, were you not, brothers?" she said quietly. They knew all too well that Yue had defied their father's order... so they feared for her safety, just as she had feared for theirs just a moment ago.

The twins nodded, which made Yue smile. She gave them each a tight hug and whispered a soft "Thank you" into their ears. This was another side of them that she loved. No matter how different Kagutsuchi and Susanou were in appearance and personality, they both had one thing in common: unending love for their family. She could still remember how much they had loved their youngest brother, Akira, and spoiled the boy to the point that should Akira decided that he wanted something on the other side of the universe, Kagutsuchi and Susanou would go there and fetch it for him. When the Lord of Heaven imprisoned the young God of Swords, the twins had knelt in front of his study for _one whole year_ to beg their father to forgive the kid. Izanagi, cold-hearted as he was, refused to change his mind.

"You don't have to thank us, Yue-nee," Kagutsuchi said. "We're your brothers, aren't we?" Susanou nodded agreement. No one could have known that both of them very nearly traded blows just a few moments ago, Yue bet.

"How touching," Yui commented. "How come you never said such nice things to me before, little brothers?"

"Because we love Yue-nee much more than we do you, obviously," Susanou answered with a playful gleam in his dark eyes.

"Susanou's right." Kagutsuchi nodded in feigned agreement. "Yue-nee always behaves herself. Unlike a certain someone who made us worried so frequently we don't care about her anymore."

"That's it!" Yui declared. "From this point onward, I officially disown you!" Kagutsuchi and Susanou only laughed. They knew Yui did not mean a word she said.

"I would love to stay and talk, brothers," Yue said, "but father was expecting me. I should not make him wait much longer."

"Yes, yes." Kagutsuchi nodded vigorously. "Go in, and don't worry. If he wants to punish you, we'll beg you off."

"Of course." Yue smiled and walked back toward the door to Izanagi's study. She could not help but realize that the Goddess of the Sun was quietly following her. She could even _feel_ Yui's golden eyes on her back. She decided to pretend the woman never existed.

* * *

"Oogami-san... was your childhood friend?" Himemiya Chikane asked quietly. She and Himeko were inside her family's limousine, on their way to Ototachibana Academy. Sitting on the backseat side by side, their shoulders were but a tenth of an inch apart. During the first ride from the Himemiya mansion to school, Chikane had found herself at one end of the bench and Himeko at the other. Yet... after the third ride or so, Himeko had decided to shrink the distance between them. Now, whenever they boarded the limousine, the little angel always sat close enough for Chikane to feel an urge to put her arm around the girl's waist and let her head rest on Chikane's own shoulder. That urge was still there today, as always, but its effect was considerably lessened by another feeling in her heart, which she could not name. 

"Yeah," Himeko answered with a bright smile on her lips. That very same smile had not faded since Oogami Souma departed and Himeko stepped into the limousine. Chikane once thought that such a smile was reserved for her and her alone. Now she knew it was not. "Unbelievable, isn't it?"

"Indeed." Chikane nodded. "Was he the very same boy you once mentioned to me?"

"I told you about him?" Himeko looked a little lost.

"Yes you did." Chikane gave her lips a thoughtful tap. "A little less than a year back, if I recall correctly."

They had only been friends for a little more than two months then, so Chikane had been very surprised when Himeko started to tell her everything about herself, including what had happened in her early childhood, which happened to involved a certain boy named Hiraishi Souma. According to the little angel, the boy had always acted as her knight, a shield to keep her from harm, and a sword to repel the other boys, who thought they could bully her and get away with it. The little knight had suffered countless bruises as a result. Chikane had listened to that tale with great amusement... until the golden-haired girl mentioned that she once adored the boy so greatly she wanted to be his bride upon growing up. Chikane did not _dare_ imagine what would have become of them had the boy not moved away from Tokyo, where he and the little angel were born, shortly after the latter's parents passed away.

"How do you remember something from such a long time ago?" Himeko asked as she looked at Chikane with those adorable amethyst eyes of her, wide opened in surprise.

_I remember every single word you ever said to me, Himeko,_ Chikane thought. What she answered the little angel with, however, was "I am fortunate in having a good memory."

"I wish I had one that just as good," Himeko commented. "My grade would have been much better." They both smiled at that.

"Anyways," Chikane said, "if Oogami-san was your childhood friend, why does he have a different family name now?" Honest to the heavens above, Chikane never even imagined that the boy Himeko used to have a crush on – she surely hoped it was only a "_used to_" – was the same one who very nearly killed her recently. Sure... they both had the same given name... but it was not as if '_Souma_ was an uncommon name anyway...

"About that," replied Himeko, "Sou-chan told me he was adopted by the Oogami Clan shortly after moving to Mahoroba. Why, he didn't say."

"I see," Chikane said, wondering why Oogami Souma could not have moved to some other place... like Hokkaido, or some city on the other side of the Earth, instead of Mahoroba, where Chikane was born. Perhaps the Gods thought that it would be fun to complicate her relationship with Himeko even further, which was already complicated enough. "Still... you never recognized him during the first year you were here, Himeko," Chikane pointed out. "You are an awfully heartless princess to have ignored your faithful knight so." She chuckled quietly as the face of golden-haired girl began to redden.

"I'm not to blame," the angel protested. "When little, Sou-chan was a plain-faced, snot-nosed kid. Now he looks..." Himeko paused as though searching for some word.

"Different?" Chikane supplied.

"Yup, different," the other girl agreed.

"Did he not recognize you during the last year, either?" Chikane asked. Small chance of that. Himeko once showed her an old album that had photos from her childhood. Despite the fact that she had grown to be a beautiful girl over the years, no one could have looked at the cute little girl with the two braids in the photo and the current Himeko and said that they were different people.

"I don't know, Chikane-chan," answered Chikane's beloved. "I asked him that myself but he only smiled and changed the topic." Chikane gave her lips another tap. She wondered why.

"What is the matter?" she asked upon noticing that the girl was looking at her with a guilty expression on her pretty face.

"I'm sorry," Himeko muttered.

"For what?" Chikane blinked.

"I can't go to the Garden of the Roses with you today," the golden-haired girl said with a rueful grimace. "Sou-chan asked me to have lunch together."

That uncomfortable feeling, which had been plaguing Chikane's mind ever since Himeko stepped inside the limousine, increased ten-fold.

* * *

"Father, by your summons have I come," Yue the Goddess of the Moon muttered the words on her knees. "I await your command." She was supposed to sound solemn, she was expected to appear in awe and respectful toward the ever-glorious Lord of Heaven, she even tried to act that way, too ... yet every time she went near him, all she felt was hate. Had it not been for the fact that Izanagi the Ruler of Izumo held in his hand her weakness, she would have tried to kill him at any given opportunity. She was tired of obeying his every command like an obedient daughter she never was. She was sick of sitting there and doing nothing while he toyed with her children's fate just as he pleased. 

Yui simply contented herself with a "Father, have you need of us?" her voice unusually quiet. The cheerfulness she wore about her person as she would clothes had faded into oblivion. Had Yue not seen the murderous face the woman put up yesterday, Yue would have been shocked seeing her so.

Yue glanced at the Goddess of the Sun one more time, wondering whether the young woman was feeling the same way Yue did. After all, the man had never considered her a daughter... After all, he had never shown so much as a smile to Yui ever since she came into this world... After all, if he could commit such an unspeakable crime against someone he created out of his blood and soul... he could not have been seeing her more than an _object_ of which he meant to take advantage. What a despicable man.

"Father, Tsukiyomi?" the Lord of Heaven said coolly. "Do you still consider yourself my daughter?"

Sitting behind a huge desk, chin on interlaced fingers, Izanagi the Maker of the World seemed at most a young man in his mid twenties. He has a small build, yet his study was one of the largest chambers in the entire Heavenly Palace. Even so, this humongous room, filled with the sunlight shining through the oversized window behind the man's back, did not seem able to contain the man's impressive presence. Every Immortal who set a foot past the door could not fail to see why Izanagi was termed the strongest entity in the Three Worlds. Even when he was sitting down, relaxed, he still emitted a fearsome aura that was at odds with his unusually pretty face. Sometimes Yue wondered why the Ruler of Izumo, older than any God or Goddess in Heaven, made himself look so young people could have thought he was but a year or two Yue's senior.

"I am your daughter, father," Yue replied. "Always have and always will." _Until the day you breach our pact,_' she finished mentally.

"Did Yuusaku not tell you that I did not wish you to leave Heaven yesterday?" Izanagi said, his voice ice.

"He did," Yue admitted.

"Then why did you disobey him and the Regent Seal in his hand?" the Lord of Heaven demanded. "Were you not aware Yuusaku spoke with my voice and carried all my authority?" His voice grew louder and hotter with every word. "Or was it that my command weighed so little in your mind that you chose to ignore it?"

"It was not so, father," Yue lied.

"Then why did you still go to Onogoro despite my express wish?" Izanagi stared at Yue, his dark eyes burning with anger.

"My daughters need me, father," Yue answered.

"How many more times must I tell you that the Priestesses are not your daughters?" Izanagi said, voice harsh and hard.

"How many more times must I tell you that I love them as mine even though they were never my flesh and blood?" Yue insisted.

"Did you not realize that you were risking my displeasure and the safety of all of Izumo by attaching yourself to them, Tsukiyomi?" the Ruler of Izumo thundered. "Are two mortals girls worth that?"

Yue spoke without hesitation, "Yes."

"Why you..."

"I do not think you're in any position to lecture Yue, father." The Goddess of the Sun coughed delicately into her gloved hand, appearing to be impervious to the icy stare her father had shifted her way. Yue was quite sure that any other Immortal would have shivered. There were Gods and Goddesses who had been heard telling others that Izanagi's gaze unnerved them and made them feel like a mortal... a guilty one at that. The golden-haired woman either had hidden her fear well... or had a suicidal amount of courage.

"What do you mean by that, Amaterasu?" the Lord of Heaven asked in a calm and soft voice. Yue's hackles started to rise. She had been around her adopted father long enough to be able to realize that there was only one thing he could be thinking of whenever he used such a voice... _Murder_.

"Well, father, perhaps you still remembered what happened three thousand years ago?" Yui said, voice equally soft. Izanagi's eyebrows knitted together in a dark, ominous scowl. "Of course, you couldn't have forgotten that you did risk your life, _and Heavens safety_, coming to the Underworld to _rescue_ my sister the Goddess of the Moon? Yue must have felt the same sentiments toward the daughters she loved."

The Goddess of the Sun smirked in triumph in the end as the man's lips compressed into a thin line in anger. Well... Yue could not blame him. After all, his own daughter just bandied words with him... and succeeded.

Uncomfortable silence ensued in the study, where its owner and his daughter looked at each other the way enemies did each other, until Yui decided to speak again. "I suppose you will find enough forgiveness in yourself to pardon my sister this time, father? You wouldn't punish her because of what she did for love, would you?"

"If I had wanted to punish her, she would have been squirming in the Sanctum Core right now," Izanagi muttered. "She will not like that."

"Surely not," the Goddess of the Sun agreed.

"Does that mean I am free to go, father?" Yue asked. The Lord of Heaven sighed in response.

"Yes," he said in a resigned manner. "You may stay as close to the Priestesses as you wish. But know this, Tsukiyomi, I shall hang you by your ankles at the gate to the Heavenly Palace should I ever discover that you have interfered ever again. Did I make myself clear?"

"Perfectly," answered Yue while wondering to herself whether the man was an idiot. He should have realized by now that Yue would interfere the very moment danger threatened her precious daughters. What gave him the notion she cared about whatever punishments he could inflict upon her? But oh well, she was certainly not going to tell him that now was she?

"Very well, you may go," Izanagi gave her a dismissive wave of his hand. "You stay, Amaterasu."

"As you command, father," Yui said blithely.

Yue rose gracefully to her feet and walked to the door to the study, where she found Yuusaku the ChiefMessenger upon sliding it aside. The man's face was purple with anger. She gave him a cool, contemptuous look and walked away. Thoughts of the man faded away from her mind as soon as her little brothers, Susanou and Kagutsuchi, ran to her side and asked whether Izanagi had punished her. Still, amidst the barrage of questions they threw her way, she could not help but wonder why Yui continued helping her despite the hostility and contempt with which Yue always treated her.

* * *

After stepping inside Izanagi-sama's study, Yuusaku slid the shoji door shut, feeling rage blooming inside him as his gaze found the Goddess of the Sun. The golden-haired woman was kneeling on the tatami floor, in front of the Lord of Heaven's humongous desk. Quietly, Yuusaku crossed the room to stand at Izanagi-sama's side, like he always had. To his irritation, the woman never gave him even a glance. It was as if he didn't exist... _The time will come soon, woman, _he thought,_ when I teach you that I'm not someone you can cross and survive afterwards._

"You have been quite full of yourself of late, Amaterasu," Izanagi-sama said, his voice little warmer than an arctic wind.

"Whatever do you mean, father?" the despicable woman asked innocently.

The Lord peered at Amaterasu over his interlaced hands and said nothing. Usually, the silence accompanying his transfixing gaze would have made any target flinch and cower. Yet, the Goddess of the Sun seemed unaffected by it. The woman had courage. Yuusaku had to give her that.

Just when he thought the staring match between father and daughter would continue until the night came, the Lord of Izumo said, "What are you trying to do?"

"I can't say I understand you," Amaterasu answered.

"Do not play coy with me," Izanagi-sama warned. "I know you have been skulking in Onogoro ever since the rebirth of the two Priestesses. What secrets are you keeping from me?" Yuusaku felt a pang of shame in his heart. For seventeen years the MessengerDivision had been trying to monitor the Goddess of the Sun. For seventeen long years they had gotten no result. No matter how many Messengers Yuusaku sent to spy on the woman, they never managed to learn a thing. How could they, when Amaterasu slipped away from them with such contemptuous ease? How could them, when they only found the woman when she _chose_ to be found? She irritated both he and Izanagi-sama no end.

"If I had secrets, would I reveal them to you, father?" The golden-haired woman laughed quietly. "Why don't you try to learn them on your own? It's more fun that way."

"You will not think it fun when I send you to the Sanctum Core," the Ruler of Izumo threatened. Yet... his words rang hollow in Yuusaku's ears. "They will have you howling soon enough."

"Shall we go there, now?" Amaterasu's laughter grew louder, richer, and much more insolent. "You know I'm not afraid of your Celestial Assembly."

"Leave, _now_," Izanagi-sama said. "Have a care or someday you will wish that you were never born."

"I doubt that day will come soon." Amaterasu rose to her feet. "Good day, father." The woman departed without so much as a nod.

"Thanks to your incompetence, Yuusaku, I have to suffer being mocked by the likes of her," Izanagi-sama said acidly once the woman's footsteps outside the study had faded into silence.

"I have no excuse, my lord," answered Yuusaku perfunctorily. It was the response he had been giving his employer for the last seventeen years.

"I am quite tired of hearing that." The Lord of Izumo gave Yuusaku a hard look.

Yuusaku swallowed and decided to keep quiet. It would not do to say anything at this moment, for any word might just pour oil into the fire.

"Report all you need to and leave me," Izanagi-sama said.

Fifteen minutes or so later, when Yuusaku was bowing himself away from Izanagi-sama's presence, the other man said, "Stop." All of a sudden, the light outside the Lord's opened window dimmed until all that remained was darkness. Thunder started to rumble. Cold winds began to roar. Without a sound, Yuusaku's employer walked to his window, his hands laced behind his back. Chills slithered down Yuusaku's spine.

"You will remember this, Yuusaku," the man said. "The next time you touch a strand of hair on Tsukiyomi's head, I _shall_ kill you." A flash of lightning outside the window lit up the man's face, which was colder and more murderous than ever.

Yuusaku knew his liege lord was serious. He started to tremble.

* * *

Himemiya Chikane was in a rotten mood. She did not show it, the others did not know it, but that did not mean that it was not _there_. 

It has been five schooldays since Oogami Souma's visit to the Himemiya Mansion, and it had also been five days where Chikane had never felt worse in her life. She did not know what method he had employed, what spell he had cast on her little angel, but he had been most successful in taking the other girl away. Ever since he came to Chikane's house and revealed to Himeko that he was her long lost childhood friend, he had been asking Himeko to lunch every singe day, thus depriving Chikane of the only thirty minutes she could spend with Himeko in school. She had never imagined how the small space within the Garden of the Roses could grow so vast without the little angel. She had never thought how half an hour could stretch so long.

What made the situation worse was that Chikane had not been able to spend time with Himeko at home, either. In the beginning of the school term, she did not have much to do but right now, club activities and responsibilities and duties of the student body president had begun to pile up. For the last five days, Chikane had been staying at school until the sky turned dark and the stars glowed bright. Yet, no matter how hard she worked, the mountain of paperwork in the Student Government Office only seemed to grow higher. It exasperated her no end.

Also, it did not help that Himemiya Kyou, her Father, had decided that it was time she started learning the ways of the business world. From across the ocean, over in the United States, his Mightiness had issued a command that Chikane was going to find time – he did not care how – so that she could take lessons from a team of MBAs whom he had shipped to Japan all the way from America. Her Father was dead serious when he told her that he meant to make her a worthy successor of the Himemiya Empire before she graduated from high school. He had no idea that thanks to him, Himeko was officially beyond her reach. How could the little angel _not_ be, when Chikane was dragged into her Father's study as soon as she returned to the Mansion, where she was forced to listen to that team of relentless men and women droning on and on until the grandfather clock struck midnight?

If there was any comfort in this hell Chikane had been tossed into, it was Himeko's effort to reach her. The little angel had tried to wait for Chikane in the library while she dealt with the other students in the Student Government just so they could go home together. Chikane was deeply grateful toward her for that, and she was very happy, too... until she found Himeko nodding up and down in the library, trying to stay awake. Waiting for Chikane for three hours straight tired the girl out completely. After that, Chikane had insisted that Himeko go home first without her. It had not been easy talking the golden-haired girl into agreement. And it had not been easy, either, persuading herself that she had done the right thing although it resulted in pulling the two of them even further apart.

Yes, while the distance between Chikane and Himeko grew, the golden-haired girl's and Oogami Souma's must have been shortening. After all, they had a lot to catch up on, Chikane supposed. After all, the boy was Himeko's childhood friend, who perhaps was more than eager to re-establish their... relationship. He did seem to want to be promoted from a knight to a _prince_ in his princess's eyes too, Chikane noticed. The knowledge only worsened her already terrible mood.

The most depressing thing about the whole business was that Chikane had begun to lose confidence in herself, and also in her sweetheart. Despite the fact that Chikane had lost almost all her chances to stay near Himeko, the ten minutes during the drive from the Mansion to Ototachibana remained intact. Curious and slightly concerned as to where the golden-haired girl's affection lay, Chikane had tried to find out what Himeko and Oogami Souma talked about during all the time they spent together. The little angel, strangely enough, blushed crimson and changed the topic. The girl probably was not aware of how much she troubled Chikane's mind by doing that. Was it possible that Chikane had been under an illusion all along? Could it be that Himeko only saw her as a friend and harbored no romantic feelings toward her despite what Chikane hoped?

Chikane sighed and left the Garden of the Roses, her lunchbox untouched, her appetite completely ruined.

* * *

Kurusugawa Himeko was drowned in distress. She tried not to show it, she didn't think others except Chikane-chan and Sou-chan cared about her enough to notice it, but it _was_ there. 

It had been five days since Sou-chan visited Chikane-chan's house, and it had also been five long days where Himeko never had a chance to talk to Chikane-chan about what she wished to. Sure, they spent ten minutes together inside the limousine every morning but it was no place for Himeko to ask the blue-haired girls things only suitable when they were private. The chauffer was there, undoubtedly privy to anything Himeko said. Sometimes she wished Chikane-chan's family provided her with a limousine that had some kind of sound buffering between the chauffer and the passengers. That would provide tremendous help.

Well, although the majority of Himeko's woes stemmed from the fact that life had caught up with her beloved princess and rendered her almost unreachable, her childhood friend played no small part in it. Not that she was blaming Sou-chan... but it could not be denied that the boy was the sole reason why Himeko failed to meet Chikane-chan in the Garden of the Roses at lunch break.

Well... she guessed she was to blame, also. She had meant to have lunch with him on the first day only, but when he kept on asking her to lunch the following days, she hadn't been able to refuse him although she wished from the bottom of her heart that he would just let her go. She never regretted being a pushover more during her entire life.

But Himeko would make sure it ended today. Nothing Sou-chan said was going to make her change her mind, and that was that. She missed her blue-haired princess terribly, and she wasn't going to suffer from it any longer than she must.

Quickening her steps, Himeko headed toward the cafeteria, where Sou-chan waited. She had a feeling he was not going to like this.

* * *

Oogami Souma was beside himself with frustration. He did his best to hide it, Himeko didn't notice it, but he was under the impression that his classmates, who walked very lightly around him these days, knew for a certainty that it _was_ there. 

It had been five days since Souma came to that ridiculously oversized Mansion, and it had also been five long days where he found himself sinking slowly toward hell. His brother the Shingetsu High Priest didn't understand how Souma could be incomprehensibly happy on the first day and became depressingly gloomy on the next. He tried to ask what was wrong, but Souma refused to tell him. It would be embarrassing to let Kazuki-nii-san know that Himeko was turning his world upside down, and that there was nothing he could do about it.

Well sure, he was overjoyed when the golden-haired girl agreed to have lunch with him on the same day he arrived at the Himemiya Mansion. He was on cloud nine while they sat in the cafeteria the following afternoon, talking merrily and reviving the memory of old. Yet, he had made a terrible mistake, one that pushed him into a labyrinth where he couldn't find a way out: invoking the name of Himemiya.

Unable to delve into Himeko's consciousness and read her mind, Souma had attempted to learn how the golden-haired girl feel about her _"housemate" _by asking her questions about her life with the Himemiya princess. This mistake cost him dearly, for it opened the sluice gate to a dam that had a seemingly endless water supply. Himeko, whose amethyst eyes had glowed like the brightest starts he had ever seen at the mention of the rich girl, started to tell him _enthusiastically_ every single thing that had the smallest connection to Himemiya. He tried to pretend he was interested – he was convinced that doing otherwise would offend the golden-haired girl – he tried to steer the conversation away from the dangerous subject, and he _failed_. Somehow, Himeko was always able to bring the topic back to the rich girl despite Souma's efforts. The girl was like a snow avalanche, to which resistance was meaningless and futile. That day, he had left the cafeteria with a smile that was as fragile as a piece of glass and a heart as heavy as a rock boulder. The only comfort that he had was that he had succeeded in asking Himeko to lunch the following day. The girl wasn't very happy about that, but under Souma's pressure, she agreed.

On the way to the cafeteria the next day, Souma had thought that it would be different, that they could find something else to talk about, and that perhaps Himeko had run out of things to talk about the Himemiya princess. He was wrong. No sooner did Himeko sit down next to him at the table than she picked up where she left off. He could only groan inwardly in exasperation during the following thirty minutes. At the end of every meeting he would ask Himeko to lunch on the next day – Himeko wasn't very good at refusing people, especially him – and at the beginning of every one of them he would be depressed as hell when he realized that Himeko was not going to stop talking about her housemate, whom she thought to be the prettiest, smartest, and kindest girl in this whole wide world. He didn't quite agree with that, and he really wanted to prove otherwise, but he forbore.

To top it all off, Himeko had shown more and more reluctance in accepting his daily invitation to lunch, and discomfort grew in her heart with every moment she spent with him. It was depressing. Unless he found some way to turn the situation around in his favor, he had a feeling he would hear the word "_No_" from Himeko soon enough.

Maddened, he grabbed the empty paper cup on the table and crumpled it in his hand. How did it all come to this?

* * *

Sitting in front of her desk, in a pair of pajama, under the warm light of her electric lamp, Kurusugawa Himeko stared at the blank homework notebook, which she had been doing for the last half an hour. Honest to the Gods above, even though the thing was due in tomorrow's class, she had found that she couldn't force herself to work on the problems. Her thoughts kept unraveling, her mind falling apart, and her heart aching so terribly she thought she would die. Sighing, she let a side of her face rest upon the notebook and decided to forget about the homework. She didn't believe she could finish even one of them tonight, so why bother? Eventually, her wandering gaze fell upon an emerald-colored one-piece dress lying on her bed. Her heart, already tied in a knot, took a deep dive into her stomach. 

The day didn't start out too shabby... who could have thought it would turn out this way in the end?

_Smiling to herself while standing in front of her desk, Himeko opened her schoolbag, took out her notebooks and pencil case, and then laid them out neatly on the wooden surface that seemed as shiny as polished bronze. Through the open windows, the cool air of the October night was breezing in, relieving the heat of the electric lamp and filling the room with the soft fragrance of the flowers planted in the vast back garden of the Himemiya. It was rather chilly at this time of night – some other girl might have put on another layer of coat – but Himeko didn't mind one bit. In fact, she found it most exhilarating... although her fine mood had nothing to do with the weather, she supposed. She chuckled quietly. _

_Himeko had had a talk with Sou-chan earlier in the day, and the outcome was most pleasant... at least to her. Sou-chan hadn't been pleased at all, listening saying that she was not going to come to the school cafeteria with him everyday anymore. His expression, which had turned sour as soon as she stared talking, made her feel so guilty she had to add that she would invite him to lunch once in a while. For some reason, it seemed to have made the boy feel even worse, for he only grimaced in response and stooped in his chair, looking seriously depressed. _

_Himeko winced at the memory. It was by no means a good way to treat her childhood friend and savior, she had to admit, but what else could she do? Sou-chan was a friend she cherished... but important to her as the boy was, he couldn't come close to Chikane-chan's position in her heart. After all, the blue-haired princess was the love of her life, there was absolutely no reason why Himeko should not pay more attention to _her_ instead. Not that she would ignore Sou-chan from now on, she meant it when she said she would invite him to lunch and hang out with him once in a while, but he had to come to term with the fact that he couldn't hog her all to himself. _

_But in any case, Himeko didn't feel too bad about this. She couldn't, really, when the thought that she could spend lunch break with Chikane-chan in the Garden of the Roses from now on made her so happy she could barely stop herself from grinning like a fool ever since she returned to her class from lunch break. Oh how her classmates had looked at her oddly for the rest of the day. Not that she paid them any heed, of course_...

_Now she only needed to wait for Chikane-chan to be released from that scary looking MBA team her father had hired to tutor her privately. Himeko had been there when the princess returned, looking slightly exhausted, but she hadn't been able to have a word with her before four men and three women, all in business attires and thick glasses, surrounded the girl and practically dragged her to the C.E.O.s study. The Himemiya Ojou-sama had seemed so sad the way she glanced desperately at Himeko, who was standing on the marble flight of stair, before she vanished. Himeko could only grimace and wish from the bottom of her heart that those people would just leave the one she loved alone. _

_Himeko sighed and wondered how long she would have to wait until the tutoring session was concluded. She wouldn't mind staying awake until the morning... but sometimes her mind just shut down against her wish if she waited too long. Maybe she should go get a cup of coffee, a huge one_...

_Someone knocked softly on the door. To Himeko's surprise, the princess's low, gentle voice immediately followed. "Are you still awake, Himeko?" _

_Literally jumping up from her chair, Himeko started for the door and grabbed the doorknob just to remember a second later that she could just have answered to Chikane-chan's call. Smiling softly to herself, Himeko turned the knob and opened the door. "Come in, Chikane-chan," she said while her eyes fixed on the blue-haired princess, who was clad in a blue, flowing dress that perhaps was only meant to serve as a night gown. Her shoulders, uncovered by the dress, was hidden beneath a white coat that still left the majority of the skin above her chest bare. Himeko felt blood rush to her face. _

_"I am surprised you have not gone to sleep, Himeko." Chikane-chan, hand holding the front of her coat together, walked into the room with a smile that was brighter than the moon outside. She must have just taken a bath, for Himeko noticed that the girls whole self was soaked with the scent of the herbal soap, and her blue glossy hair was glistening with moisture. She smelled really nice. "It was rather late already." The princess glanced at the grandfather clock, which read ten in the evening. _

_"Ah, I was... um... busy with the homework," Himeko lied, her head spinning from the fresh, crisp scent of Chikane-chan, who had sat down next to her on the bed._ _Up-close, the other girl was more beautiful than ever with her snowy complexion still moist after the bath, the shiny luster of her hair, and the sapphire eyes that was drawing in every bit of Himeko's existence. And certainly, being able to notice the sensual body curves under the white yukata did not help at all. The Himemiya princess's small shoulders, her ample chests heaving gently under the fabrics, her slender waistline altogether made up a figure so well proportioned that a girl would be dying to have... a body Himeko herself would be dying to hug... _

_"I see," replied the Himemiya Ojou-sama, whose mere presence quickened Himeko's heart. She reminded Himeko of the unfinished conversation they had five days ago, when Sou-chan decided to pay her a visit and ruined her whole week. Perhaps she could find a way to start it over now. _

_Himeko opened her mouth to speak, but Chikane-chan was faster. _

_"Ne, Himeko, I have a day off tomorrow," the princess said in a cheerful voice. _

_"You do?" asked Himeko, surprised. "I thought you'd have lessons from your tutors during weekends, too." _

_"I was supposed to." The blue-haired princess smiled softly. "But I told them that I wanted to be free tomorrow, and they could report it to my Father if they wished." The girl placed a hand atop Himeko. "I missed you. It seemed an eternity had passed since I talked to you last," she said. "Do you want to hang out with me tomorrow? We can go to some shopping mall to have fun, see some movie, and have dinner in some restaurant afterwards." Her hand squeezed affectionately around Himeko, and the gentle light in her sapphire eyes made Himeko want to weep. _

_For the first time ever, Chikane-chan had asked Himeko out on a date – nothing could have made Himeko happier than that – but why did she have to choose _Saturday

_The Himemiya princess noticed Himeko's silence. _

_"What is wrong?" Chikane-chan asked with a concerned expression that only deepened Himeko's guilt. "You are not free tomorrow?" _

_"I'm sorry, Chikane-chan," she apologized. "I have an... appointment with Sou-chan tomorrow already." The other girl only looked at her, face entirely expressionless. Himeko could never tell what her princess was thinking every time she did that. _

_Himeko wanted to sigh. Why did this have to happen to her? Why did Sou-chan have to ask her out? And why oh why did she have to agree? Sure, she felt bad about telling him that she was not spending her lunch break with him every day anymore... but had she had any inkling that she might be able to have a date with Chikane-chan tomorrow, she would have refused him and sympathy be hanged. _

_"I see," said the princess. _

_"I'm sorry, Chikane-chan. Can we make it Sunday?" Himeko's heart sank the moment Chikane-chan shook her magnificent head. _

_"I have a meeting in downtown on Sunday," the blue-haired girl told her. "Father wished to have me introduced to the Board of Executives of Himemiya International. I cannot back down from it." The Himemiya Ojou-sama grimaced. "It is going to take me all day, or so my Father assured me when he talked to me over the phone this morning." _

_ Silence stretched between them while Himeko tried her hardest to find a way out. She hadn't found one yet when the blue-haired princess decided to speak, "So, a date between you and Oogami-san." She smiled. "Has your prince on the white horse finally mustered enough courage to ask you out?" _

_"He's not my prince," Himeko protested. _'I don't want a prince. I want a princess. I want _you_, Chikane-chan,'_ she thought. "And it's not a date." It was compensation, a token of gratitude, and a pang of guilt. That surely couldn't count as a date, could it? _

_ "Where are you two going?" The blue-haired girl smiled. _

_"An amusement park," Himeko replied... and blinked at a soft, melodious laughter from the princess. _

_"A perfect location for boyfriend and girlfriend, do you not agree?" Chikane-chan commented, her sapphire eyes twinkling in amusement. _

_"He's not my boyfriend!" Himeko insisted in exasperation. _

_ The Himemiya Ojou-sama didn't seem to have heard. _

_"What time are you going to meet with him?" _

_"Four in the afternoon, but Chikane-chan, I_..._" _

_The Himemiya Ojou-sama rode over her as if she had not spoken. "Then I can ask my chauffer to take you to the amusement park." The blue-haired girl smiled warmly at Himeko. "He shall be there, also, to bring you home." _

_"Listen to me, Chikane-chan, I_..._" Before Himeko could finish, the blue-haired princess had grabbed her hand and pulled her gently to her feet. _

_"Come with me," said the love of her life. "You shall need suitable garments for your date. Lets find you some." And just so, Chikane-chan took her to a huge room where every door, there ought to be at least a dozen of them, opened a wardrobe, the content of any one of them was different from the others. From casual garments to business attires, from summer gears to winter wear, from night gowns to formal dresses suited for high-class parties, this room had them all. Himeko all but wondered if the Himemiya simply bought every type of clothes there was for the princess whether she would wear them or not. _

_"Choose any of them and it is yours, Himeko," the Himemiya Ojou-sama declared with a little smile. _

_"I cant do that!" Himeko protested. "They are so expensive!" Himeko wasn't so blind that she couldn't realize that the clothes in this room belonged to famous brands and renowned designers. Any of them would cost more than Himeko could possibly earn in a year. And honest to the heavens above, even if she had that much money, there would be no way in hell she would spend it on a dress! _

_"So?" Chikane-chan asked, her smile unfazed. "Is there any rule that says friends cannot give friends expensive gifts?" _

_"No, but_..._" _

_"If so, there is no problem, is there?" _

_Himeko couldn't find any word to say to that, so she kept quiet and frowned at the floor. When she looked up again, she found the blue-haired princess smiling at her as sweetly as ever. Sighing, she shook her head and muttered, "No." The other girls smile broadened and lit up her already dazzling face. _

_"Come here and have a look then, Himeko," Chikane-chan invited. _

_An hour later, once the Himemiya Ojou-sama had made Himeko look at every piece of clothing there was in all these wardrobes, Himeko ended up with an emerald-colored satin dress. It was one of the most expensive ones, and she had avoided it as soon as she noticed the six figures number on its price tag, but it appeared that Chikane-chan had had her eyes on the thing all along. The girl never hesitated before she walked back to the wardrobe on the other side of the room and took it out without having to look. Himeko would be more than willing to wager that the girl had not spared one glance at the price tag before she put it in Himeko's hand, either. _

_"Try it on, Himeko," the princess urged as her hand gestured toward a door that led to the changing room. Heaving another sigh, Himeko did as her beloved friend and secret crush wished. When she came out for Chikane-chan to have a look, she found herself smiling. The difference in height, build, and the three sizes made the dress appear decidedly awkward for her. All the reasons she needed to return it to the blue-haired girl and get a... less costly piece of cloth. _

_She had no such chances. _

_Before Himeko could open her mouth and speak, Chikane-chan had called in a dozen of maids, whom she instructed to get Himeko's measurements and fix the dress so that it would fit her. They did all of that in only one hour, which shocked Himeko so greatly she could only gape like a country lout at the dress in her hands in the end while the princess chuckled to herself in a very satisfied manner. That alone put an end to her fine mood. _

_On the way back to Himeko's room, both of them were quiet. She didn't know what the Himemiya Ojou-sama was thinking, but on her part, Himeko's heart was as heavy as a boulder. When the light of her world bid her goodnight and gave her a light kiss on her forehead, Himeko never felt the joy she thought she would. Somehow, the exquisite dress in her hand – which admittedly not many girl in this country had the chance to glimpse at, let alone hold – looked barely different from any of her Ototachibana uniforms. _

_Himeko tossed the dress casually onto the bed and went to her desk, where she sat down on her chair and started brooding. _

Chikane-chan probably would never imagine how she had caused Himeko such heart-wringing grief by demonstrating her enthusiasm in helping Himeko choose a dress for her appointment with Sou-chan tomorrow. Why did the blue-haired princess have to look so happy knowing that Himeko had just been asked out by a boy?

Ever since learning that the two of them were the reincarnations of the ancient Priestesses of Kannazuki, Chikane-chan had been giving her the feelings that she thought of Himeko more than just a friend who happened to dwell under the same roof. With her kind words, with her gentle gestures, with her affectionate touches, the other girl had given Himeko the hope that perhaps one day they could become lovers. But that was the case, why did the Himemiya Ojou-sama show no sign of sadness, or disappointment at all?

Himeko chewed on her underlip in frustration. Was it... possible that Chikane-chan's feelings toward Himeko had been an illusion since the beginning? Was it possible that Himeko was but a friend to the Himemiya princess? Had it been her own wishful thinking all along?

Himeko dearly hoped not.

* * *

Yukihito watched intently as the golden sphere throbbed in the dark the way a real human heart would. Oogami Kazuki thought that only he knew how to get down here, the Enshrinement Chamber, that only he was privy to the greatest secret of Shingetsu Grand Shrine. The High Priest was by no means as bright as he thought. Yukihito knew of this place long ago, even before he came to work in the Shrine as the High Priest's research assistant. Yukihito smiled. Everything was going just as he expected. 

Unlike the others', Yukihito's eyes could see what lay beyond the warding. Within the protection of the orb of golden light trapped in the middle of that ice pillar, two katana slept. One was sheathed in red, the other in blue. They were named the Eyes of Heaven, and rightfully so. They were after all, the greatest weapons ever made since the dawn of time in the Three Worlds. Even the Eight Elemental Blades, made by that wretched woman whom Yukihito hated with a passion, would be no match for the Twin Swords of the Sacred Light.

Yet, it seemed the swords' sleep were not as peaceful as usual. From the sheathed blades emerged waves of light invisible to the naked eyes. Yukihito knew what it meant. The Priestesses of the Sun and Moon, the true owners of the swords, were experiencing overflowing emotions. Joy? Or was it pain? From the intensity of the light, the amount of heat, he guessed pain. It did not matter much, though.

Yukihito turned toward the stone flight of stairs leading back to the surface. It did not matter much in the grand scheme of things but... why did it upset him so?

* * *

"Greetings, Royal Highness." Sou-chan gave Himeko a bow upon seeing her walking toward him. The boy was standing at the entrance to Mahoroba City Amusement Park, in casual shirt and pants that were becoming on him. Undoubtedly, his fan girls in Ototachibana would squeal and faint as soon as they saw him in this kind of getups. And once they woke up, they would flay Himeko for having an... appointment – she refused to think of it as a date – without asking for their permission first. Sometimes she wondered why they were so crazy about him in the first place. _The same reason why you are crazy about your Chikane-chan, Kurusugawa Himeko, _a quiet voice reminded her in the back of her head. She swallowed a rueful chuckle. 

"Hi, Sou-chan," Himeko greeted her childhood friend warmly. For some reason, he peered at her in puzzlement.

"Did something happen, Himeko?" the boy asked. "You don't look very well."

Himeko gave a start. "Really?"

"Well, I don't mean your health," said Sou-chan. "It's just that you seemed rather... depressed somehow. What's wrong?" he asked in a concerned voice. And Himeko grimaced. She couldn't tell him the reason. Not when Chikane-chan, the love of her life was involved.

Himeko hadn't been able to get much sleep since what happened between her and the blue-haired princess last night. When she woke up in the morning, she believed she only got one hour or two of rest, she felt terrible. And when the Himemiya Ojou-sama saw Himeko to the limousine that would take her to this park, Himeko only felt worse. If only Chikane-chan had shown her a sign of jealousy. If only Chikane-chan had told her that she didn't want Himeko to go out with a boy. Had she done any of that, Himeko would have jumped into her princess's arms, confessed, and kissed her for all she was worth.

The Himemiya Ojou-sama only smiled tenderly at Himeko and told her to take care of herself before she waved after the limousine speeding into the distance, carrying Himeko to a place she didn't want to be. It had been very difficult for Himeko to hold back her tears in the back seat of the car. She was only thankful that she could. It would not do to cry in the presence of the chauffer. It would not be nice to ruin her face before she met her childhood friend. Sou-chan deserved more than that.

"It's nothing, Sou-chan," Himeko denied hastily. "I just don't get enough sleep last night because of the homework, that's all."

"Really?" Himeko got the feeling that her childhood friend didn't believe her. Thankfully, he gave her a little smile and inquired no further. She heaved a sigh of relief. She made a terrible liar, so if Sou-chan had pried on, she would have blabbed something silly, or worse, spilled the whole truth. Himeko didn't want to lose the childhood friend she cherished.

"Shall we go then, Highness?" the boy extended his right arm to Himeko. Placing a hand on the crook of his arm, Himeko went into the park with her knight in shining armor.

Yet, determined as she was to repay Sou-chan's kindness, fixated as she was to make him happy, the matter with the blue-haired princess refused to leave her mind. No matter where they went, the rollercoaster, the haunted house, or the arcade inside the park, the invisible hand of pain never stopped clenching her heart. She did her best to hide her unease, she tried to smile as often as she could, but she believed her childhood friend had noticed her troubled symptoms. The boy once in a while would look at her in worry and asked her if there was something he could do to lift her mood. She felt so guilty toward him.

"Are you tired, Himeko?" Sou-chan asked as they departed from the arcade. "It was a bit noisy and crowded in there, wasn't it?"

"Kinda." She smiled.

"Do you want to sit down and take a breather?" Sou-chan invited. "There's a coffee shop nearby. I'll treat you to a cup."

"Thanks, Sou-chan," Himeko replied with another smile. Her jaws felt stiff from having forced herself to smile for the last two hours.

They were on their way toward the coffee shop when Himeko stopped abruptly and found her eyes glued at a manga a young woman, sitting on a bench not faraway from them, was holding in her hand.

"Someone you know?" her knight asked.

"No." Himeko shook her head. "I'm just surprised to see someone reading that book."

Sou-chan turned his head and looked at the cover of the manga. The woman, appearing to be in her early twenties, didn't seem to notice them the way she focused his attention upon the illustrated pages. Himeko all but wondered why she chose to read manga in an amusement park of all places. Her question was answered immediately, though, when a girl, who in her high school uniform looked roughly the same age as Himeko, emerged from a restroom nearby and ran toward the older. Noticing the former's arrival, the latter put the book into her bag and walked away with the girl, _hand in hand_. Sou-chan blinked at the retreating couple, and Himeko felt as if she was about to blush.

"_The second the world ends_, book six, final." Sou-chan gave a cough. "What about it?"

"Well, I used to have the whole series," Himeko answered. She _used to_, until Sou-chan destroyed her room in Ototachibana Dorm, obviously. She had to buy them back soon.

"What is it about?"

"Eh... it's girls' stuff, you probably won't be interested," Himeko said.

"Try me." Sou-chan smiled. "I'd like to know how your taste has changed over the years, too."

"Well, how about I do that at the coffee shop?" Himeko suggested.

"Sure."

It never occurred to Himeko until she finished telling the story of _"The second the world ends" _to Sou-chan that the boy might have some issue with it.

* * *

Treading upon the spacious hallway that led to the garden of the Temple of the Dragons, Korona stifled a huge yawn. Despite having snored in bed during the last twelve hours, she still felt so sleepy she had half a mind to go back to her room and doze off. Well, she _was_ tired. After all, she had spent the last two days or so working non-stop on the recording of her newest pop single, which should be released soon. All the songs she performed for the audio tracks and all the dances for the video clips included in the accompanying DVD had wrung out every ounce of strength Korona had. And for an Orochi, that said _a lot_. 

Suppressing another yawn, Korona opened the door at the end of the hallway, and found herself speechless.

In the garden, lush and verdant with green grass smooth as silk upon which towered a multitude of trees and spraying fountains, Korona saw one person she never expected. Under the light of various magically lit lampposts, at a round table upon which sat a billowing set of teakettle and cups, on a high-backed, cushioned chair lounged the Fifth Head of the mighty Orochi, Oota Reiko herself. The short-haired young woman, boyishly pretty and bespectacled, was focusing her attention on the pages of a book so thick Korona would kill herself before she touched it. Still, it was the woman's mere presence that surprised Korona, not the book in her hand.

For as long as Korona knew the famous shoujo mangaka, Oota Reiko _never_ left her room unless summoned to the Audience Chamber by the Lord. What brought her out here today, Korona wondered.

"You chose a peculiar time to have tea, mangaka super-sensei. Six in the evening?" Korona sat down opposite the other woman. Not asking for any permission, she poured herself a cup of tea and took a sip. Wincing at the bitter taste, she put the cup down immediately and swore that she would never drink it again.

"It keeps me awake in the night, sixty-ninth." Reiko looked up from her book. She was good-looking alright, but she looked too much like a man – Korona had actually mistaken the mangaka for one the first time they met! – for Korona's comfort. She but wondered how the woman would look should she don the clothes that would emphasize the curves of her body, which were almost non-existent, and let her hair grow past her shoulders. Must be some pretty sight to look at, Korona bet.

Something in the Fifth Head's words struck her.

"It's _sixty-eighth_, you ignoramus!" Korona snapped.

"Since when did your single go up a rank in the top one-hundred?" Oota Reiko lowered her eyes to the pages, voice monotonous like that of a robot they usually showed in the Sci-Fi movies.

"... Three days ago," Korona muttered.

"I see. Congratulations, then," said the woman. "I would offer you champagne, but I do not care for alcohols. I would offer you tea, but you have already invited yourself to a cup and obviously disliked it." All of that was delivered in such an unchanging tone and emotionless manner that Korona was under the impression that she was being mocked. She had no evidence, though, so she could only ground her teeth and growled back a "Thank you", which she obviously didn't mean. If it displeased the Fifth Head, she hid it well.

"Why are you out here today?" Korona demanded.

"Because I thought all of you were gone." The woman turned a page of her book.

Korona blinked. "Huh?"

"From the window of my room, I saw the First, Second, and Third Head leaving one by one not too long ago." Off to wreak havoc on some part of the world, no doubt. "I knew that you and Sixth Head worked late shifts, so I assumed no one else was left in the Temple." Usually, any Orochi Head could sense the presence of another within a certain range, depending on his or her respective power level, but not here, the headquarters of the Followers of the Lord. Here, in the heart of evil, the Dark God's presence enveloped all else. That should be why Oota Reiko never detected Korona sleeping inside her room.

"Do you mean to tell me that you only come out once all of us have left?" Korona asked in utmost incredulity.

"Precisely."

"I don't know you hate us so."

"Correction." The Fifth Head looked up and fixed her bespectacled eyes upon Korona. The other woman's gaze was as chilly as the night's winds. "I do not hate you. I merely distrust you. That, and I prefer to be alone whenever I can."

"We are your comrades... and all we earn from you is distrust?" Korona said flatly.

"As would any other human," came the dull reply.

"Orochi Heads aren't humans."

"You look like one."

"I'm a thousand times stronger!"

"If I run my sword through your heart, will you die?"

"Yes..."

"Then you are still a human, and the only trustworthy humans are corpses." The mangaka barked a mirthless laughter. It made Korona's hackles rise. "The dead do not speak. They stay in the Underworld. They cannot harm me."

"You're a human too," Korona pointed out heatedly. She didn't care to be made fun of. "If you hate humans so, why don't you kill yourself?"

"I will," Oota Reiko said, "once I receive what the Lord promised me."

"What's that?"

"Revenge on this wretched world. What else?" If the woman's gaze was chilly before, it was now colder than ice. Korona shivered.

"You don't look like someone who wants this world gone," Korona observed as she tried to keep her hands still. In the Lord's name... they itched to run up and down her arms to provide her the heat against the Fifth Head's icy aura.

"Why do you say so?"

"You're rich, you're famous, and people love your works. Anyone would tell you that you lead a perfect life."

"What I have is an empty life," the Fifth Head declared softly. "No more, no less."

"Dubious."

"Why do you think I said I would kill myself once my revenge was completed?"

"What did the world do to you anyway?"

"It took away the only one I loved." Korona's teeth started to clatter. She didn't see the Ice Blade that Reiko possessed anywhere in the vicinity, then how the heck could the woman tap into its powers and make the temperature drop so low? And was it frost that was covering the blades of the grass? "A life without her is a life not worth living."

Korona blinked again. "_Her?_ You swing that way?"

"Does it surprise you?"

"It does," Korona agreed. "I never knew you were capable of loving any person, another woman at that."

"I see." The mangaka returned her gaze to the book. Korona was infinitely relieved. Her blood would probably freeze should the woman keep looking at her.

Silence stretched in the garden, under the light of the Dark Sun and the lampposts.

"You're not going to stop there, are you?" Korona demanded, annoyed. "Tell me the rest of the story."

"You're a curious girl, Fourth Head," Oota Reiko said. "Do you know what they say about curiosity and the cat?"

"I'm not a cat," declared Korona.

"Perhaps not, but you are just as fragile, vulnerable, and easy to kill."

Korona gritted her teeth together. It was common knowledge within the circle of the Orochi that Korona was one of the weaker Heads – heck, the only one she topped was that cat-fanatic Nekoko – and that Reiko's power was but a step below that of the First Head himself. Still, what irked her was that the other woman was stating it as a fact and without any hint of mockery. Korona was not pleased... at all.

"Are you going to tell me or not?" she almost snarled.

Korona thought the other woman was going to say "No" the way she kept studying her with that icy, unreadable face. However, when Oota Reiko closed her book and put it atop the table, Korona knew the answer was a "Yes". She came very close to laughing out loud in triumph.

The mangaka reclined against her chair, folded her hands on her lap, and started talking. "Everything happened at my private all girls' high school, where my life was changed forever..."

* * *

Oota Reiko was and had always been a loner. She had no friends. Her parents, wealthy and absorbed in attempting to grow even wealthier, were as close to her as any stranger on the streets. She grew up under the care of the professional babysitter her parents hired, who vanished as soon as Reiko learned how to survive by herself in her vast, empty, and silent manor. It was no surprise to her parents that their daughter ended up being as tight-mouthed as a mussel and would rarely speak. That did not bother them one bit, though, for they never seemed willing to speak to her anyway. In fact, Reiko had heard other people gossiping that she was but a mistake on her parents' part, and that they would have arranged for an abortion had the Christian God they worshipped allowed. To them, Reiko was but a burden and an obligated duty, no more, no less. 

Reiko never told them, but she guessed they knew it all along, that she cared about them _almost_ as much.

Still, negligent as they were, her parents tended their _duty_ well enough. They could have left Reiko to starve and had the burden lifted from their shoulder. They could have shipped her off to some remote part of the country and pretended she never existed. They did not do that. Instead, they provided her with all she needed to lead a life without any worries. She considered them fools, for there couldn't have been anything more dangerous than giving a child an unlimited amount of money and told her to do with it as she wished. Indeed, they were fools, but they were lucky in that Reiko was heavens and earth apart from other kids. She had never been tempted to use it more than she had to, so the credit card was safe and sound for the most parts. There were times Reiko but wondered if it was because there was nothing that caught her eyes. After all, she _used to_ think that this world's existence itself was meaningless.

She knew that was _wrong_ in her senior year in a private all girls' high school, where one person shook the very foundation of her monotonous world.

The first two years in high school were uneventful enough. Just like what she did in her entire life, Reiko took necessary steps to remove herself from what she called _"the lukewarm community"_, also which she hated to the guts. No classmates were brave enough to get within ten feet of her, and the ones who sat in her neighborhood in class were pretty much out of luck. She once heard a girl whisper to another once that Reiko's icy stare scared her witless. Reiko had _never_ been so pleased.

Still, something unexpected happened in Reiko's third year, when a girl transferred from another school... into Reiko's own class. Her name was Kawakami Natsune.

Reiko's first impression of Natsune was a clumsy airhead. Sure, the girl was pretty enough to make many other girls in the class green with envy, but somehow, she managed to trip over _every_ object placed in her way, thus making a fool out of herself every time she landed on her stomach. Sure, the girl looked smart with her high forehead and her glasses, but her grades proved otherwise. Natsune was the only one in the class who managed to score five zeros on five tests on five different subjects. Reiko often asked herself how God could have created a person with so little brain. She was tempted to ask Natsune how the girl could have gotten herself into high school with her lack of intellectual abilities, too, but she thought that it would be too cruel, and rude, to do that.

Oddly enough, Reiko found herself harboring a strong, indescribable feeling toward the clumsy girl. She had automatically assumed that it was dislike.

Of course, for someone who was ever so fond of silence and solitude like Reiko, Kawakami Natsune was but a thorn in her eyes. The girl seemed to be Reiko's antithesis the way she was energetic, friendly, and absolutely incapable of hate. There was another girl who insulted Natsune to her face once – Reiko believed envy was the cause – but the airhead only smiled and said she was sorry to hear that. Had it been Reiko, anyone who insulted her would have regretted it for the rest of their natural life.

Still, what bugged Reiko about Kawakami Natsune the most was the fact that she was _stalked_ by the latter. No matter where Reiko went, in school or on the way home, the airhead was always there, hiding behind some tree or corner, probably thinking that she had not been detected. It irked Reiko no end, so one day, she decided to face her stalker.

It was during a lunch break when Reiko grabbed Kawakami Natsune by the wrist and dragged her to a deserted spot in the school's backyard.

_"Why are you following me?" Reiko asked as she fixed her coldest stare on her stalker. When she did that, people always claimed to have suddenly recalled that they had business to attend to elsewhere and tried to leave. Even the teachers, taller, stronger, older, were no exception to that rule. _

_"I... I don't know what you're talking about!" Natsune declared hastily. The girls pretty face was red, her breathing rapid, and her hands were fidgeting with one another in what Reiko was sure to be guilt. _

_"Do not lie to me. I saw you." _

_"You must have been mistaken! It has to be someone else_..._" _

_"Who wore the same school uniform, had the same hairstyle, and looked the same way?" _

_The airhead nodded and tried to act innocent. She failed. _

_"I am sick of having a tail already," Reiko said. "I give you two choices, Kamikawa. First, you tell me why you shadowed me. Second, you will do so in front of the headmistress. She probably will turn you over to the police, though." _

_Natsune's complexion went a little gray. "Please, don't bring me there," she pleaded. _

_"I shall count to three. After that, may God help you. One." _

_"You don't understand, Oota-san, I... I..." _

_"Two." _

_"Couldn't you just let me go?" Kawakami Natsune appeared ready to fall onto her knees. "I beg you!" _

_"Three." Reiko turned to leave... and stopped the moment she felt the other girls hand on her shoulder and heard a frantic "Okay! Ill tell you!" issued from her mouth. When Reiko faced the airhead again, the latter was on the verge of breakdown. She seemed so frightened. She seemed so unlike her usually cheerful self. Reiko would have chuckled, had she remembered how. It had been indeed a very long time since she did it last. _

_"Well?" Reiko demanded coldly. She frowned, however, upon seeing the girl blush again, this time much more furiously than the last. Reiko thought Natsune's mouth was moving, but if that was the case, no sound came out of it. _

_"Out with it!" _

_"I followed you because... I... I_..._" Natsune's voice suddenly dropped so low Reiko could not hear one single word. _

_Irritated, she pretended to spin on her heels. The clumsy girl was a sight to behold the way utter horror replaced the look of embarrassment on her face. _

_"Because I like you!" the airhead shouted in a strangled voice. _

_Reiko stopped dead on her track. Kawakami Natsune had taken up a serious study of the ground, her whole self trembling as if standing naked in the heart of winter. They were at least an arms length away from each other... but somehow Reiko thought she could feel the warmth emanating from the girls reddened cheeks. _

_"You... like me?" Reiko asked stupidly, her mind unraveling. She had thought that Kamikawa Natsune was scheming something... but she never expected _this_. "But I... am a girl like you are." The _"like"_ the girl spoke of had to be in a romantic sense. Else she would never have stalked Reiko so... persistently during the last two weeks. _

_When Kamikawa Natsune looked up, unshed tears were shining in her eyes. The girl scrubbed her hands at them then, and gave up when they rolled incessantly down her cheeks. She looked a thorough mix of embarrassment, horror... and shame. _

_"Do you mean to say that I cant like you because were girls?" Natsune sobbed. "Does that mean you won't return my feelings?" Reiko found herself at a loss for words. Her social skills were at best insufficient. She did not even know how to deal with her own parents, let alone comforting a girl in tears, one who had just confessed to Reiko at that. She was so glad that no one else was around to see this. _

_"I... am... sorry," Reiko managed finally. "I... am not interested in having any relationship." It would have been wise to add _"right now"_, too, she supposed, but that would be a lie. Oota Reiko was many things, but she was not a liar. Still, she had better not tell Kamikawa Natsune that dislike was all she felt toward her. That might cause some... unwanted reaction. _

_Kamikawa Natsune buried her face in her hands and wept harder than ever. Not knowing what to do, Reiko only stood there stiffly and watched the girl cry while feeling extremely uncomfortable. After a few minutes, she thought she should try to calm the airhead down lest someone chanced upon them. Still, she found no words to utter so that the situation could be improved. She scratched her head in frustration. _

_Luckily, Natsune's crying eventually ceased on its own. Oh how Reiko had been relieved. _

_"Here you go." She handed her handkerchief awkwardly to Kamikawa Natsune. The girl shook her head and used her sleeves to dry up her tears. _

_"I am sorry," Reiko mumbled. _

_"Not your fault," replied Natsune in a ragged voice. "I should have known you would never accept me. I should never have followed you. I should never have begged my parents to let me transfer to your school." _

_"... Eh?" Reiko blinked in shock. "What do you mean by that?" Natsune looked up at her with her large emerald eyes. How shiny they were. How deep they were. How beautiful they were. Reiko wondered why she never noticed. _

_ "That's... because you rarely went outside, and in the beginning, I was too afraid to do anything except watching you leave in the morning and return in the afternoon from my window. You probably didn't notice, but my houses next to yours. Were neighbors," murmured Kamikawa Natsune. "Anyways, I did that for two years until... until_..._" She chewed on her underlip. _

_"Until?" Reiko prompted. Why was her face heating up? Why was her heart beating faster and faster? And why was she still talking to a girl she barely knew when she never uttered more than two words a day to her own parents? _

_"Until I... I... wanted to be close to you so much I begged my parents to transfer me into this school. I didn't mean to upset you when I followed you. I... just wanted to look at you, that's all!" Perhaps what she said reminded her of the current situation, Natsune's eyes welled up with tears once more. Reiko saw that, but thoughts were whirling in her mind so violently her attention on the girl just slipped away. So... Kamikawa Natsune was her neighbor, who had had a crush on Reiko for the last three years_..._ She did not really know how she should react to that. _

_"Why me?" Reiko muttered. "There are better people out there. You have plenty in our class to choose from." _

_"It has to be you," insisted the airhead, her voice growing shakier with every word. _

_"I said it did not have to_..._" _

_"It has to be you!" With that, Kamikawa Natsune burst into tears again and ran off, leaving a stunned and confused Reiko standing there until the bell rang and called her back to class. The girl was not there. Neither was she seen anywhere during the following week. _

On the seventh day since Natsune's complete disappearance, Oota Reiko realized that her world had been turned upside down. She should have on the second, really, when she walked into the classroom late and found every seat had been filled except hers and Natsune's, or when she kept being so on edge during the lectures her mind rejected everything the teachers explained, or when she found that her eyes never stopped glancing toward the only empty desk. She had assumed it was guilt. She even prayed to the Christian God for the first time since she was born, hoping it would go away soon and restore her life to what it once was.

God did _not_ answer her plea.

Without Kamikawa Natsune in class, Reiko's days were as tormenting as her evenings, when she stood by her window, peering at the house to hers' left, where no light shone. Her dreams grew restless, as she often woke up sweating profusely in the middle of the night. She never told anyone that she only dreamed of one face over and over. Natsune's.

Also, the strange feeling toward Natsune, which Reiko assumed to be dislike, became most violent during the airhead's absence. It clenched her heart, it crushed her soul, and it drove her almost insane. Yet, it made her realize that it was not what she _thought_ it was. If it were truly dislike, she would have felt relieved and peaceful without Kamikawa Natsune tailing her like her own shadow.

No, it was not dislike. It was love.

Once she knew her own heart, Reiko had run to Natsune's house to look for her and to tell her how much she loved her. To Reiko's horror, none answered the door, and she could not seem to find the nametag. The very next day, when she asked around, she learned that the Kamikawa family had gone bankrupt, so they had to sell their own house to pay off some of the debts. Where they could have gone? No one knew. Words failed to describe the pain that seared Reiko's heart.

Of course, she refused to give up. Abandoning school and pretty much everything else, she searched for the one she loved. Weeks went by without any result. Undaunted, Reiko kept on plowing through streets full of people and left no leaf unturned. Before she could find Natsune, fatigue caught up with her. She had thought she could ignore her limits. She believed that she could go on. She only noticed that she had one foot in the grave when she tried to cross the street when the light was still red, when she found herself frozen in the headlight of a car that was going toward her too fast to stop in time. Reiko stared as death approached.

Someone pushed her out of harm's way. She ended up on her back upon the sidewalk with but a few scratches on her body, while her savior lay bloody and motionless on the street and the car crashed into some storefront. For the first time in her life, Reiko cried out in heart-wringing grief. It was Natsune.

As if God did have eyes, he sent an ambulance swiftly to the scene of accident and took her to a nearby hospital. There, in front of the Emergency Room Reiko waited, crying her heart out and fervently praying to all that was Holy that Natsune be saved. Her wish was granted. When the doctors emerged more than twelve hours later, they told Reiko that Natsune was no longer in critical condition. All that the girl needed was rest. Relief overcame Reiko and knocked her unconscious.

A few days later, when visitors were finally allowed, Reiko found Natsune inside the VIP recuperation room, which she paid for using her parents' credit card. The girl's right arm was bandaged and put inside a sling, as was her right leg. She broke a few other bones in her body, too, but the doctors assured Reiko that with time and physical rehabilitation, they would heal and allow Natsune to walk around like any other person. Apparently, the driver of the car, which hit Natsune, had tried his best to apply the brake and turn the car aside so it only brushed at Natsune instead of crashing into her head on. Thanks to that, the girl lived.

_"Oota-san, come on in," Natsune greeted Reiko, who was standing at the door, from her bed. _

_"This is... for you." Awkwardly, Reiko gave the girl the bouquet she bought. _

_"Thanks," the airhead smiled and put the flowers on the nearby tabletop. _

_"That is my line," Reiko mumbled. "You saved my life, Kamikawa. How can I ever repay you?" _

_"I would say _'go out with me'_," said the girl with a small smile on her lips, "but that would put you in a tight spot, so I won't. Besides, I didn't save you because I wanted rewards_..._" _

_Reiko sat down on the bed and took the girls uninjured hand into hers. "Will you be my girlfriend?" Natsune blinked at her in shock. _

_"I... I wasn't serious, Oota-san," she said hastily. "I know you don't like girls the way I do_..._." _

_"Not _all_ of them," Reiko agreed, "but I love _you_, Kamikawa." She squeezed the hand of the one she loved, who stared at Reiko with an utterly blank expression on her face. She did not seem able to comprehend what she just heard. _

_"Why did you not tell me when you moved away?" Reiko asked. "Have you any idea how hard I have been searching for you, Kamikawa?" _

_"But... but you... you weren't particularly happy when I confessed," replied Natsune in a puzzled tone. "So I thought... I thought I didn't have a chance." _

_"I did not know what I was thinking at that point," Reiko said. "I was confused. I only realized how much you meant to me when you were already gone. Not having you by my side hurts me. Not seeing you every day hurts me. I have missed you so, Kamikawa." _

_Silence stretched between them until tears rolled down the other girl's cheek. _

_"Me too, Oota-san," Natsune sobbed. "I missed you too." _

_Her eyes misting, Reiko gently and gingerly took the one she loved into her arms. It was the day they exchanged their first kiss. _

From that point on, Reiko spent every day in the hospital with Natsune. She was already there early in the morning and she stayed until the nurse came in the evening and told her that she had to leave. They talked, they laughed, they kissed, and they promised to stay by each other's side until the end of the world. A few months later, Natsune's recovery was complete, so she was allowed to leave the hospital. Of course, since Reiko had not been going to class, and Natsune had missed her final exams, they both had to repeat their senior year in their respective schools. When they graduated, they both found jobs, so they moved out of their parents' houses and rent an apartment for themselves. Life was not especially gentle with them, and they had to make end meets, but their life together was happy enough to make them forget all about the hardships they had to face.

It was then that God decided he was not going to leave them alone.

After two or three years of bliss and no contact from her parents, they called and asked to see her. Reiko had wanted to ignore them but Natsune did not like that. _"I want you to get along with your parents,"_ the girl murmured one night when they were lying snugly in each other's arms, in bed. Natsune's wish had always been a command to Reiko, so she agreed without hesitation. She should not have.

At the meeting with her parents a few days later, Reiko learned that the Oota Family was teetering on the edge of destruction. Economic fluctuations had stripped her father and mother of most of their assets. Unless they received financial aids from some other source, they were going to lead a very impoverished life in the near future. Reiko, bored with their woeful tale, had asked politely whether there was something she could do to help. The people she called mom and dad had seized her offer like any drowning person would a lifeboat. They told her that if she would just consent to being wed to a wealthy man who was twice her age, their problem would be solved.

Disgusted, Reiko left immediately.

Her parents refused to give up.

With what's left of their financial power, they hired detectives and finally found out who it was that Reiko was living with. Then they decided to strike. The despicable man and woman disclosed to Reiko's neighbors that she and Natsune were lovers. Being God-fearing folks to the bone, they frowned upon Reiko and Natsune the way they would filth. Every day, whenever they left for work in the morning, they could see those people whispering to each other with hatred shining in their eyes. The very same people who had invited Reiko and Natsune to their son or daughter's birthday party now shunned them and treated them with utmost contempt.

Reiko could have cared less about her neighbors. She was not close to them in the first place. Yet... Natsune was the one who was hurt, so Reiko, too, suffered. They tried to move to another place but the result proved to be the same wherever they went. It made Reiko wondered how her parents could hate her so much.

It got worse.

Despite not having much left in their bank account, Reiko's father and mother used their money recklessly and desperately to take Reiko and Natsune's jobs away. Their reputation and connection in the business world only served to further their goals and made their daughter's life worse than miserable.

Then a tragedy finished Reiko's parents' job.

Natsune had always been a frail girl who could easily fell ill. After the accident that almost took away her life, Reiko's beloved's health became even more fragile. Thanks to the doing of the people Reiko once called mom and dad, she was subjected to such an unthinkable amount of stress that her body broke down... completely. Then she fell sick, so sick that the doctors at all the hospitals to which Reiko took Natsune told her that there was nothing they could do.

"Two weeks later, Natsune passed away," Reiko told her companion the Orochi Fourth Head. The pop idol gasped in what Reiko believed to be pain and sympathy. The girl's eyes were wet, too. "There only thing I could do was crying during her last moments. The second she drew her last breath was, to me, the second the world ended."

"Isn't that the name of your manga?" the Fourth Head asked. "I saw it on the shelves in some bookstore once."

"Indeed it is." Reiko nodded. "The tale portrayed in that manga was my own. I called myself Akiha in it, though." She smiled. "It was a name to match Natsune's."

"I see," murmured Korona. "So that's the reason why you wanted revenge on this world."

Reiko nodded again.

"I think we could be friends, Reiko," said the other girl, who had suddenly taken up the teacup she abandoned since the start of their conversation. She took a sip, winced at it again, but she drank it all.

_Has she ever called my name before? _Reiko wondered.

* * *

"So, what do you think, Sou-chan?" Himeko asked once she finished. 

Oogami Souma didn't quite know how to answer the one he loved. He had asked about the manga in the hope of learning Himeko's current taste, but he had never imagined that _"The second the world ends"_ was about the love story between two girls. Of course, he had been extremely uncomfortable the moment he realized that it was exactly about the issue he would try his hardest to avoid. He had thought about stopping Himeko from talking about it, too, but one look at that delightful place snapped his mouth shut. Undoubtedly the girl wouldn't be happy should Souma make it known that her favorite story was touching a nerve.

"I know you'd be bored." Himeko smiled knowingly as she lifted her coffee cup from their table. "It's a manga for girls, I told you so."

"Well..." Souma coughed quietly, suddenly feeling a gust of distaste toward whoever the author of this manga was.

"But what do you think, though, Sou-chan?" After she had taken a sip, Himeko put her cup back down on the table. There, she turned it around and around between her palms while her amethyst eyes peered intently at the surface of dark liquid inside. Her cheeks started to redden. "Is falling in love with another girl such a vile thing in other people's eyes?"

Souma hid his grimace in his coffee cup. _Would you _just_ talk about something else, Himeko? Anything else is fine! _he thought. When he looked up again, he found the princess's amethyst eyes on him, waiting anxiously for an answer. He sighed.

"I don't know, Himeko," Souma said. "I haven't given it much thought." That was a lie, of course, but Souma couldn't think of anything else that could help him get out of this situation.

To his dismay, Himeko had no intention of leaving the subject. The girl was simply... inexorable.

"Let's just say that if I fell in love with another girl," Himeko said, face the color of sunset. "I mean, just _hypothetically_. What kind of advice would you give me then?" Souma's hand clenched around his porcelain coffee cup while he tried to keep his face smooth. _Hypothetically?_ Souma was born an Orochi, not an idiot.

"I would tell you that you're walking down a path that leads to your undoing," Souma said quietly. "I would tell you that what happened to the couple in the book could happen to _you_. And I would ask you if you are afraid of such an outcome." He paused and looked at the one he loved. "How would you answer that?"

The girl stared at him unblinkingly for a while before she uttered a quiet "I would say no."

"Why?" Souma asked. "Why would you, _hypothetically_, even _want_ to pursue that kind of love when you know that disaster's waiting at the end of the line? The fate of the couple in that book isn't exactly enviable."

"Not what happened to them," the golden-haired girl agreed, "but I do envy their _relationship_. They were able to tell each other their feelings. Their love was requited. Not every girl in the world is that lucky, don't you think?" The girl's face turned sad all of a sudden. "For all I know, I could fall for some girl and would never be able to get my feelings across. For all I know, I may have to spend the rest of my life without knowing how it would feel to be loved." Stopping abruptly, the girl turned her head sideways. "I'm sorry, dust got into my eyes." Himeko took out a handkerchief and dabbed it the tears that were rolling down her cheeks.

Souma sighed. So that was why she had been feeling depressed ever since she came to the amusement park. Himemiya must have done something that made the golden-haired girl think that she stood no chance in winning the rich girl's love. That must have been a misunderstanding, for as far as Souma knew, Himemiya thought of Himeko in the same way the latter did the former...

"Well, Himeko..." Souma was about to say something when an alarm rang loudly in his head, most effectively cutting him off. It was trying to warn him that an Orochi was nearby, no doubt. Rising to his feet as quickly as he could, he scanned the vicinity with his Orochi-enhanced eyes.

"Sou-chan? What's wrong?" Himeko asked, puzzled.

Souma spotted the Orochi. Amidst the twilight sky stood one man, whose blade-slender frame was clad in a white cape, whose hand was clutching a sword that didn't resemble those belonging to the two Orochi Souma had had the misfortune to chance upon. Where the previous Orochi's swords were straight, his was crooked and had diamonds encrusted into the blade where its direction changed. From afar, the blade's shape resembled that of the famous constellation of the sky, Hokuto _Shichisei_ the Big Dipper. When Souma's eyes traveled to the older man's face, they widened in surprise. Why did this Orochi Follower look so familiar? Where had Souma met him before?

"Himeko, go to the backdoor and leave this place immediately." Souma said in his gravest tone. "An Orochi's here."

"The more reason I can't leave you by yourself, Sou-chan," Himeko protested.

"I can't take care of both of us at the same time, Himeko," Souma raised his voice a bit. He was grateful for her concern but she surely wasn't going to do him any good by staying. "RUN! GET OUT OF HERE!" The other customers in the coffee shop looked up from their tables and stared at him in shock. He paid them only a glance before he turned his attention back to the golden-haired girl, who stared at him for a few seconds before she stood up and hurried toward the backdoor. With her departure, he heaved a sigh of relief.

Once Souma had walked out of the coffee shop, he raised his hand and recited the incantation, _"Lord of the Thunder Sky, come forth!"_ From the dark clouds above, purple lightning bolts sprang down at his hand and materialized into Raien the Sealed Sword.

"Are you going to point Raien at me, Souma?" the Orochi asked, his crimson eyes boring at Souma's. They were shining as brilliantly as the early stars on high... but with _hatred_ instead of light. Worse, Souma could sense the man's powers very clearly. He wouldn't be exaggerating when he said that the Orochi's level was one step above his. He shivered. He had met three other Heads... yet none of them came close to this one in power.

Suddenly, the familiarity of the man's voice struck Souma.

"You... you are..." Words failed him. Souma knew this voice. It belonged to someone he cherished when he was a kid, to the second person besides Himeko who gave him hope when despair tormented him everyday. _"Tsubasa-nii-san?"_ he asked as tears threatened to well up in his eyes.

"Yes, my little brother. I have returned," the Orochi said.

* * *

Chikane was standing at her glass window, drowned in pain and solitude, when a terrible feeling gripped her heart. She did not hesitate for one second before she ran out of her room shouting for the chauffer. She had only felt this way once before... on her and Himeko's seventeenth birthday, when the Dark Sun spread its shadow across the land, when Oogami Souma attacked her beloved. She only prayed she could get there in time. 


	6. A special someone

_**EPISODE FIVE: THE DRAGONS ROAR.**_

* * *

Yukihito was walking on a street of Downtown when he stopped suddenly in front of an empty alley. Its ground was littered with empty soda cans, its walls with dirty graffiti... and what seemed to be stains of blood. Under the crimson light of the setting sun, this little alley, a typical gathering place for shady people, looked so ominous that all who had an ounce of sense would depart immediately and never look back. Still, the façade was deceptive. Yukihito doubted anyone would suspect that within those walls and empty space stood elaborate Wards and Barriers made to conceal whatever happened inside and scare away uninvited guests? Yukihito truly had to comment the person who laid those spells. Such an immensely powerful Spirit Field, yet its presence was cloaked so deftly that even a God would have little chance in noticing its existence. He would have applauded that person, too, had both of his hands not occupied by the books that the Shingetsu High Priest asked him to fetch from a nearby bookstore. 

But was it not strange that something like this was here, of all the places? Spells of this caliber were certainly not woven by a mortal. Yukihito did not even think that half of the Gods and Goddesses in Izumo knew how to set those up, let alone combining them together to such degree of perfection. _Puzzling, quite puzzling indeed. _Yukihito cocked an eyebrow at the alley in sheer curiosity. This had to be the work of an ancient being of enormous powers, most likely from the Underworld. In that case... Yukihito's eyes went wide. Could it be _her_? His fists clenched at the thought.

It very bloody well _could_.

All of a sudden, two shadowy figures emerged from the alley and bumped into his front. Pretending to lose his balance, he dropped the two plastic bags he was carrying in his hands. As a result, books spilled on to the ground while he himself landed on his bottom.

"Ouch," Yukihito groaned in feigned agony.

"Our deepest apologies. Are you alright, sir?" Two girls, outwardly identical, were standing there, peering down at him, blank faces betraying no emotion whatsoever. With a look their long raven-haired framing their more than pretty faces and at the expensive one piece dress elegantly gracing each of their bodies, most people would be certain they were Ojou-sama from a noble House... but Yukihito knew better than that. The twins were _Immortals_, each possessing such an abundance of celestial powers that they could make a God from Izumo seem weak as an insect. Their strengths were only one step below that of Tsukiyomi the Goddess of the Moon herself!

"No, I am the one who must apologize." Yukihito collected the books with the help of the two and rose awkwardly to his feet. "It was my fault for standing in a daze. But who could have thought such graceful ladies like yourselves would come out of a dirty alley?"

"Why, you are most kind, sir," spoke the Immortals-in-disguise in unison. Even their voices were the same. "But please excuse us. We have matters to attend to." They gave him a slight bow.

"Then have a good day." Yukihito inclined his head.

Yukihito turned and walked away. As soon as he could get to somewhere alone, he would notify Heaven and the Holy Messengers. He needed to know what the damned woman planned to do with the Human World. Yukihito hated surprises, and _she_ was specialized in delivering most unpleasant ones when least expected. But this time, he was prepared. This time, she would never be able to catch him unguarded. _Wait and see, woman,_ he thought angrily,_ what you dealt me once, I shall return ten-fold!_

* * *

Your thoughts, Fuyura?" Tsukazaki Haruhi said once they got out of the young man's earshot. If someone laid eyes upon the sisters at the moment, all they were going to see would be two young women walking upon the rowdy streets of Mahoroba, leisurely and without a care in the world. They would never know that the twins were deploying all of their powers of perception, which in turn formed an undetectable field of external vision about themselves. As soon as someone with the tiniest spark of power got within two hundred feet of the twins, they would know it immediately. It might seem overkill to do such a thing in Onogoro, where the number of magisters had been dwindling over the centuries, but after the unexpected encounter with the intriguing young man, Haruhi believed extra caution was by no means needless. 

"He's suspicious, Haruhi," her sister answered, her powers resonating with Haruhi's in a faint but endless rhythm. As long as they were at each other's side, joined in heart and strength, very few people in the Three Worlds could harm a strand of hair on either's head.

"Yes, he said _dirty alley_, did he not?" Haruhi nodded. "A slip of the tongue, undoubtedly. A mortal is not supposed to even _see_ the alley itself. Definitely suspicious."

"A spy from Izumo?" Fuyura said.

"I would think so," Haruhi agreed.

"Then I shall find out what he is up to," the other woman murmured. She would have spun on her heel and walked in the opposite direction, too, had Haruhi not taken her hand and dragged her along by force. Her sister's lips thinned in irritation.

"Do not be reckless, Fuyura," Haruhi told her little sister. "Whatever he may be, the man is strong. He could see through the warding, and he concealed his powers so well that I sensed nothing from him at all. Pursuing a foe whose strength we cannot fathom is a disaster waiting to happen, why can you not see that?"

"Then we are going to let him slip away just like that?" Fuyura muttered impatiently. "You do realize we must not let Izumo get a whiff of this, do you not, Haruhi?"

"I never said that I would leave that man run free in Onogoro, unchecked," Haruhi answered in a wry tone.

"Then why did you stop me?"

"Because there are people more suitable for the job, dummy." She knuckled her sister playfully on her forehead. "Do you claim to possess more talent in spying on people than the personnel of the Intelligence Service?"

"Oh," was Fuyura's only reply, accompanied by a few surprised blinks and an embarrassed gust of laughter. It would seem that she never remembered the existence of the Service, which, supposedly, was one of the departments under _her_ jurisdiction. Haruhi only shook her head and sighed.

"So, will you ask _your_ people to do something about that young man, now?"

"You need not tell me that." Fuyura's hand rose and pulled a PDA out of thin air. She then started to use her electronic pen, created in the same fashion, to scribble hurriedly on the LCD, meanwhile oblivious to the grimace Haruhi sent her way. Why did her twin sister not realize that they were _walking_ upon a street full of people, who could have noticed what she had done and raised a fuss about it?

"Done," announced a pleased-looking Fuyura, who just let the PDA and the pen melt back into thin air. "What, why are you staring at me?" They both had stopped in front of a bakery shop, the storefront of which displayed a multitude of cakes of various colors and shapes and sizes. Near the entrance, behind a table, stood a teenaged girl who was calling and handing out samples to passers-by, who were swarming around her in a rapidly growing crowd. The cakes might actually be tasty, but Haruhi was willing to wager that it was the girl's voluptuous body that drew in the customers, most of which were men whose eyes were fixing at her scantily covered curves. The manager of the shop knew how to do business, Haruhi supposed.

"Will you just tell me what has been going with you already, Fuyura?" Haruhi said in a soft voice. "I cannot help you if you refuse to speak up, you know."

"What do you mean?" Fuyura seemed interested in the pavement all of a sudden. Still, she could not hide the fact that her face had gotten quite flushed. Haruhi frowned.

Haruhi and Fuyura were identical twins, and as such, they had _almost_ _everything_ in common. Their personalities, their tastes in food, their habits, and even the way they schemed were but the same. That was why it was effortless for Haruhi to notice when her sister started acting strange. Fuyura, the acclaimed _precision machine_ in the Underworld, had been making numerous mistakes during the last few weeks. She was constantly in such a sour, short-tempered mood that she could barely focus her attention on matters at hand. As a result, the young lady mixed up documents, misallocated budgets, and even fell down the same stairs... twice... in a row.

Haruhi really did not get it. Her sister was in prime condition three weeks ago, before Haruhi left for Onogoro alone on a secret mission. Upon Haruhi's return a day later, she found Fuyura already a mess. Her office, once clean and tidy enough to please any janitor, was buried in mountains of unfinished paperwork. Her raven hair, always falling in a straight stream all the way to her waist, looked unwashed and was tangled in what seemed like a bird's nest. Haruhi had had to clean up the office and drag her sister to the bathroom herself.

Once done with that unpleasant task – Fuyura fought every step of the way – Haruhi had attempted to learn what had happened during her absence from the Underworld. She failed miserably. Her colleagues either did not know, or decided not to tell her. Even Haruhi's _liege lady_ changed the topic when asked, due to reasons that Haruhi failed to comprehend. And as if that was not bad enough, Fuyura kept being tight-mouthed as a mussel when Haruhi confronted her. She exasperated Haruhi no end.

"You know what I mean, Fuyura, you..."

"Look, Haruhi, do you not think they have really tasty-looking cakes over there?" her sister clamored all of a sudden while gesturing excitedly at the bakery shop. "Wait here, I will get some." Not waiting for Haruhi's assent, Fuyura walked hurriedly toward the girl who was handing out samples. Haruhi could only groaned in frustration at her sister's blatant attempt of avoiding the question. Maybe Haruhi would have to tie her down first...

Bored and somewhat irritated, Haruhi watched in silence as the crowd of customers slowly parted ways to allow Fuyura's access to the sale assistant in the middle. The men, who were speaking excitedly to the scantily clad girl a second before, now gawked openly at Haruhi's twin sister as their mouths clamped shut in what seemed to be amazement. Some of them even had the nerve to call out to the young woman and would have attempted to touch her shoulder had she not given them a stare that would turn their internal organs to ice. Haruhi chuckled quietly to herself. The men's behavior did not surprise her. They had never been famous for their ability to resist pretty women, anyway. She was amused, however, because the sale assistant, with the virtue of being also a girl, was not faring better than her customers, at all.

Leaning her back against a lamppost, Haruhi could not help but grin at the scandalously dressed sale assistant, who was blushing furiously at the raven-haired young woman who had just unexpectedly shown up at her table. The teenager, who had been quite professional in her job the way she juggled the people in the crowd without letting an inch of her body be touched, now could not seem to find her voice while her eyes glued dead at Fuyura's pretty face. The other people surrounding the two might as well never exist. Only until Haruhi's twin sister asked for a sample on the table did the girl snap out of her day dream. She then hurriedly looked at the remaining pieces on the table and finally gave Fuyura what Haruhi thought to be the most delicious-looking sample. When Fuyura's fingertips accidentally brushed over the girl's palm, she turned a deep shade of scarlet. Even after the raven-haired woman had walked into the shop – Haruhi's sister liked what she tasted, undoubtedly – the teenager still peered through the glass door and watched as though unable to take her eyes away. Luckily, her customers were busy doing the same thing, too, so they did not notice.

Then the truth slapped Haruhi across her face. When Fuyura came back, holding a beautifully decorated box in her hands, she found her elder sister overwhelmed by an uncontrollable fit of laughter. How could Haruhi not be, really, when she finally understood the cause to Fuyura's recent unusual behaviors? She could not believe she had been so _blind_. The signs had been there ever since the beginning, when the twins sought employment in the Underworld! She laughed even harder. Finally, she had found _one thing _that she did not share with her sister. Who could have believed this...?

"What is so funny?" Fuyura eyed Haruhi curiously.

"It is a secret, little sister," she answered while her hand wiped a tear from the corners of her eyes.

"Tell me," Fuyura demanded.

"Only if you do the same and tell me what has been bugging you lately."

That shut Haruhi's little sister up. The young woman, whose lips thinned into a straight line in indignation, decided to ignore her elder sister and stride forward. Chuckling softly, Haruhi caught up to the younger woman and walked arm in arm with her on the road that she knew to be leading toward Mahoroba City Amusement Park.

"What is it, Fuyura?" Haruhi asked when her sister suddenly stopped in her track.

"Did you see that black limousine that just rushed by?"

"Yes, what of it?"

"Himemiya Chikane was inside."

"That is not exactly surprising, is it?" Haruhi observed. "This world is pretty small."

"But she looked so anxious and worried," insisted her little sister. "I wonder why."

Haruhi glanced at the black limousine that was speeding into the distance and said nothing. Had Fuyura been paying attention to the live video feed that the Intelligence Service had been sending to the Underworld, she would have known why the Priestess of the Moon was currently not in the best of moods. Besides, considering her situation and what was coming to pass, who would _not_ get depressed? Haruhi sighed. Much as she wanted to help the girl, though, she could not. Himemiya Chikane had better learn to take care of her self...at least for the time being.

* * *

"Tsubasa-nii-san?" Oogami Souma said, still unable to believe his eyes. 

"You look well, Souma," said the man in white, who was his long lost older brother.

"Tsubasa-nii-san... Where have you been all this time?" Souma said with a sob and let go of the Lightning Blade. Raien left his hand and plunged its blade half way into the paved ground. Souma's eyes began to sting and moisten.

"Before I answer that, let's find ourselves a quiet place to talk." Tsubasa-nii-san glanced at the surrounding. Passers-by, eyes glowing with curiosity, were gathering around them into a rapidly growing crowd, which didn't seem to be disbanded any time soon. Overwhelmed with emotions as he was, Souma couldn't help but chuckle. Of course, his blood brother was still suspending in mid-air, for crying out loud. Of course they would be curious.

"Anywhere you want, Tsubasa-nii-san. Would my house be okay?" Souma invited cheerfully. "Kazuki-nii-san would be overjoyed to see you again."

"That would be too far away, and I am too lazy to walk," Tsubasa-nii-san smiled. Shivers rippled Souma's spine. It was a very cruel smile, one that did not touch his eyes, and one more than capable of giving people nightmares.

"What... do you mean?"

"Why must we leave when we can simply wipe out the source of distraction?" The older man raised his crooked sword overhead. "Shine, Hokuto."

At Tsubasa-nii-san's command, countless beams of white light emerged from the seven gems encrusted on the sword. Everything happened so fast that Souma could only stand there, watching those beams thunder down like the heaviest rain he had ever seen. The ground exploded in chains, people were blasted into the sky just to be slammed down merciless afterwards. They never stood up again. Souma resisted the urge to buckle down and empty his stomach. Those people were still lucky to die in one piece. Some others were hit head on. What remained of them was nothing more than a few speck of dust, soon swept away from the face of the Earth by the evening winds of October.

The survivors got the picture. They screamed and tried to run in every direction at once. Alarms resounded endlessly in the air. From the speakers around the amusement park, the operators tried to calm the people down and asked them to evacuate in an orderly manner, yet their voices were soon drowned by the panicking cries of the people. Amidst all the chaos and destruction engineered by his own hands, Tsubasa-nii-san laughed and laughed and laughed.

"Is this not nice, Souma?" Tsubasa-nii-san landed quietly like a leaf falling to the ground. Dead bodies littered around his feet but he paid them as much attention as he would some fallen leaves.

Trembling from lava-hot anger, Souma roared, "Tsubasa-nii-san! What do you THINK you're doing?!"

"I thought I told you we need a quiet place to talk," replied an idle and seemingly bored Tsubasa-nii-san.

_"And this is your idea of a quiet place? It's a slaughterhouse, for pity's sake!"_ yelled Souma with all of his furies, his hand gesturing at the dead bodies littering across the ground. When he realized that his brother's expression hadn't changed a hair, he grabbed the man's collar and shouted, "DID YOU HEAR ME?"

"Let go of me, Souma." Tsubasa-nii-san looked at him calmly.

_"That's all you can say? Tsubasa-nii-san!" _If anything, Souma only gripped harder.

"What is this? You get mad at me, your blood brother, because of complete strangers?" Tsubasa-nii-san shook his head. "I am disappointed, Souma." Faster than what Souma's eyes could follow, the older man's right hand positioned itself inches away from Souma's chest. "And I said, _let go!"_

White light flashed. As if hit head on by a speeding car, Souma was hurled away from Tsubasa-nii-san and landed on his back upon the earth. Then he began to cough off blood over and over again. When he could stop, the entire front of his shirt was red.

"Why... Tsubasa-nii-san?" Souma mumbled weakly.

"Because I am an Orochi. Would that suffice?" Tsubasa-nii-san drew Raien from the ground with his free hand and threw it next to Souma. "Little brother, I was proud of you, proud of the fact that you defeated my comrades so easily. But how come you are so pitiful now?" He loomed over Souma, his voice grating like nails scratching the surface of a wall.

"What do you... want with me?" Souma tried to stand up. He couldn't, for Tsubasa-nii-san had already pressed him down with a foot on Souma's chest. Pain seized him once more.

"What else? As the Commander of the Orochi Followers, I have my duties." Tsubasa-nii-san drew a cigarette from his pocket and lit it with a flame that burned at the tip of his sword. "I will give you two choices now, Souma. You can come with me willingly to the Temple of the Dragons, where the Lord resides. There you shall ask for his forgiveness and pledge your allegiance to him for all eternity. Worry not, little brother, for he will welcome you back to the Orochi ranks with open arms. I doubt he would even say a hard word to you, let alone dealing out punishment."

"What's the other choice?" Souma scoffed. "Death?"

"Naïve, Souma," Tsubasa-nii-san said. "You will still come with me all the same. Know what, my little brother, if you refuse my offer, I shall invoke the darkness from your _Sword_ and let it devour your soul. You still remember, do you not, the old friend that awakened you less than two weeks ago and made you attack the Priestesses?"

Chills rippled down Souma's spines. He guessed his countenance must have mirrored what he was feeling inside his heart, for Tsubasa-nii-san suddenly seemed extremely pleased after he glanced at Souma's face.

"So, my brother, what say you?" The older man gave Souma the same smile that had curved his lips before he proceeded to slaughter the people around him with his Hokuto the Star Blade. Souma decided that it was an extremely disgusting smile. "Will you return to my side and enjoy sweet immortality together?"

Gathering his resolve, Souma spat a fierce "Never" at his brother's face.

"Is that a no?" the man asked quietly.

"You heard me! Nothing will control me ever again, Tsubasa-nii-san!" Souma glared at his brother. That earned him a hard stamp on the chest. Blood rushed painfully to his throat and spilled out from the corners of his mouth.

"Come see me here at midnight, Souma," Tsubasa-nii-san turned around, "and I shall convince you otherwise."

The older man swung his sword. From the encrusted gems on his blade, white light flooded out and enveloped him completely. When the light was gone, so was Souma's brother. Souma put a hand over his face but he was too late to stop the tears that had already been rolling down his cheeks. For a moment there, he had thought he could reunite with Tsubasa-nii-san, for a moment there he had thought he would have a warm family again. Why... Why did this have to happen to him? Why did the Gods make Souma's blood brother his enemy? _Why?_

* * *

Kurusugawa Himeko had an inkling she had fled from one kind of trouble just to run into a different one when she almost stumbled into one person who was standing very still when everybody around her either was rushing toward the exit or finding shelters. That person was a girl roughly of Himeko's age, whose pretty face was emotionless, whose platinum air was not moving in the night winds, and whose gray eyes were as dull as those of the dead. Yet, Himeko guessed the strangest thing about the girl was that the stream of panicking people parted _before_ they could reach her, forking to flow past her slender frame on either side. It was as if they were a river, and she was an immovable rock standing in its way. Only in this case... the river didn't touch the rock... at all. 

"Fancy meeting you here, Priestess of the Sun," said the stranger, who was standing but a few feet in front of Himeko, who was oblivious to the chaos around them. Her voice was soft, perfectly neutral, and bland as pure water, but it startled Himeko the same way the sound of a gunshot would.

"How do you know I'm a Priestess?" she asked apprehensively, her body instinctively taking a step backward. People were all around her... yet she had never felt more unsafe and alone in her life...

"Because I have been monitoring you since you moved to Mahoroba," answered the other girl.

"What do you want with me?" Himeko took another step. She was afraid. No, she was terrified. This girl, frail and powerless as she might seem, scared Himeko even more than any Orochi Follower she had met did.

"Nothing harmful to you." The platinum-haired girl's hand rose. "You see, Priestess, the fact that you have not regained your powers is an obstacle in my plan, one I mean to see removed." Colorful sparks jumped around her fingertips. "Worry not, child. You will thank me later, after I have restored your strength to what it once was." Light that changed color every second or so started to gather around her hand in a growing orb. Before Himeko could turn around and flee, a shining pillar of light leapt forward and enveloped her.

The heat that flared up in the middle of her chest was the last thing Himeko felt before she passed out unconscious.

* * *

The platinum-haired aggressor knew that she had made a terrible miscalculation when the spell she cast bounced off the golden sphere of light surrounding Kurusugawa Himeko and struck down a man who happened to stand in its way. She knew she was in deep trouble when the golden sphere expanded as if it wanted to push her and all other people away from the Priestess of the Sun as far as possible. She knew she had to leave immediately when the heat of the protection sphere started to invade her ethereal self, threatening to overwhelm her... and also when she sensed a very familiar presence of power high in the starry sky. 

Looking up, the aggressor widened her eyes upon seeing a figure clad in a snow-white hagoromo robe in Izumo's fashion. It was a young woman whose long silver hair fell all the way to her feet, whose beautiful face was brimming with anger, and whose raised hands were blazing with silver light. _Tsukiyomi-sama!_ she thought in horror. When did the Goddess of the Moon arrive? The aggressor _tsk'ed_ in utmost irritation before she opened a Dimensional Portal and departed immediately from the scene. _It was so close, _she thought. _It was so close!_

* * *

Himemiya Chikane, on the edge of the back seat of the limousine, wanted to tear her hair out in frustration. She had once thought that her patience was inexhaustible but ten minutes of watching the traffic around her car advance at the speed of the turtle proved that she was dead wrong. Right now, she was but a hair's breadth away from being driven insane with worries. At this moment, Himeko might have been in grave danger... yet Chikane could do naught but sit inside this almost unmoving car, feel her heart beat wildly and urgently within her chest, and listen to the sirens blaring in the distance. The knowledge only worsened the lethal mood that had been plaguing Chikane ever since her beloved little angel left for the Amusement Park this afternoon. 

_"Have fun, Himeko," she said to the golden-haired girl. _

_They were standing at the entrance to the Himemiya Mansion, Chikane at the top of the short flight of stairs, Himeko at the bottom, near the black limousine arranged to take her to the amusement park. The girl, beautiful in the dress chosen for her by Chikane's own hand, was not looking particularly happy. Chikane was puzzled. She knew perfectly why _she_ was feeling terrible inside, but why would Himeko, who was about to go on a date with her long lost childhood friend, her knight in shining armor, seem so upset? _

_"Do you have anything else to say to me, Chikane-chan?" the little angel said quietly, her beautiful amethyst eyes locking at Chikane's sapphire. The girl seemed expectant, hopeful, and despaired at the same time. Chikane did not get it. _

_"Take care of yourself," was all Chikane could come up with. As far as she was concerned, it was not what Himeko had wanted to hear, for the girls face had taken on a shade of dejection as soon as Chikane was done. The Priestess of the Sun let out a quiet, disappointed sigh, too. Chikane but wondered what her secret crush was thinking in her head. _

_"You too, Chikane-chan," Himeko said as she climbed the short stone flight of stair. When she reached Chikane, the little angel gave her a warm hug before she climbed down and got into the limousine. Her waving hand from the window was the last thing Chikane saw before the car made a right turn at the gate to the Mansion and vanished. She sighed as she turned around and went back inside with a heart that was as light as a boulder of rock. _

_She tried to play the piano in the music room at the far corner of the West wing. It did not work out. Somehow, the notes she played sounded so... hollow that she felt no joy in playing her favorite pieces like she used to in the little angels presence. Perhaps that was the key. After all, in the golden-haired girls absence, this Mansion had grown infinitely quieter despite the fact that the servants were still there, busy with their tasks all over the place. Without Himeko, this place could have been as lively as a churchyard at midnight, she thought. She even started considering whether she should call the MBA team His Mightiness Himemiya Kyou had hired to relieve some of her boredom... and sadness. _

_Chikane decided that she would not. Studying business while feeling so depressed probably would turn the rest of the day into a nightmare. That she had had enough. Maybe she should retire to her room and have some rest instead. The Gods knew all too well how hard those four men and three women in the MBA team had tried their best to stuff knowledge into her brain and exhausted Chikane in the process. Yes, a little nap would be a good idea indeed. She rose from the piano seat and walked out of the music room. _

She never managed to get a nap. It was somewhat similar to what had happened in the music room, she supposed. Chikane had been in such a restless state that she could not stop herself from tossing and turning on the bed, or even keep her eyes closed. In the end, she gave up and decided to stand by the sill of her window and watch the sun sinking into the horizon, something she always did whenever she was in a bad mood. It was there that she was seized by such a feeling of urgency and danger she had summoned her chauffer immediately and ordered him to take her to the amusement park.

Chikane's anger rocketed sky-high the moment her attention returned to the flow of vehicles around her. Every car, including her own, had pulled to a stop. Peering through the windshield at the front of the limousine, she felt as if she was going to erupt like a volcano. The car was practically sitting atop a very low hill, near the junction of the Tenth Avenue and the Eighth, so it was possible for Chikane to see what kind of traffic lay ahead. What she did, was a seemingly endless road mounted by countless unmoving red tail lights. She did not believe she could ever reach Mahoroba City Amusement Park unless she abandoned the car right at this moment. Yet, even if she did, there was still no guarantee she could arrive on time, seeing that there was still a long way from here to where Himeko was stranded. A lava-hot flame roared from the pit of her stomach and soared all the way to her brain.

The heat of a thousand suns flared on her back, where she knew the Moon Crest was, at the same time a disc of silver light emerged beneath her feet and filled the space within the confinement of the car with its glorious aura. The light was so brilliant that Chikane's eyes instinctively drew shut. When they opened up again, she was no longer sitting on the back seat of the black limousine. She was on her feet now, standing in a large, empty square where deafening sirens were blaring over her head. She did not need to look at the Ferris Wheel looming over the distance to her left, or the Merry-go-round platform to her right, both of which was not moving, to know that she had arrived at her desired destination. No, she did not need to, not when in front of her, under the starry sky, was blazing a large golden sphere of light... in the dead center of which floated Kurusugawa Himeko, the girl she loved.

As if guided by divine will, Chikane's hands automatically darted forward before she had an idea of what she was doing. Winds howled and silver light raged at the same time the golden sphere shattered into a million sparkling pieces and allowed gravity to pull Himeko toward the cement-paved ground. Standing very still, Chikane only reached out her hands once more and commanded the silver light gathering around her body to extend upward and swathe Himeko's slender frame. Once it had broken the golden-haired girl's fall, the silver light put her into Chikane's arms as carefully and gently as a man would handle a fragile egg.

As soon as she caught Himeko, Chikane immediately scanned the surrounding for a way out. She saw many paths leading in different directions, each seemed as likely to be the true exit as the next. Chikane did not want to choose, for she was well aware that any of them could lead her deeper into the park, or worse, straight toward an Orochi. She had to find a quicker and safer way to bring Himeko out of this place. She found it the moment she realized that silver light was still whirling around her like the strongest tornado she had ever seen, that torrential currents of lava and ice were coursing madly inside her body. Holding Himeko more tightly in her arms, Chikane called forth the powers that had brought her here and helped her save Himeko. And they came.

A flash of silver light took Chikane and an unconscious Himeko out of the amusement park and delivered them back to Himeko's room in the Himemiya Mansion, just as Chikane had willed it to.

Thanks to the silver aura still wreathing around her, Chikane could see where the large king-sized bed was. The light, however, winked out the moment she laid the little angel upon the bed and returned the room to the pitch black darkness that had reigned in here until it was banished by Chikane's luminous arrival. Quietly, Chikane flipped a switch and turned on the two bed lamps sitting atop the small tables located on either side of the bed. She then gave the sleeping beauty, who did seem to be immersed in a deep slumber more than a comma, a light, lingering kiss on the forehead before she pushed a button over the headboard and summoned the maid currently on duty to this room immediately. Giving her sweetheart one last look, Chikane walked out of the room.

"Ojou-sama!" exclaimed a young woman in Himemiya livery, who arrived moments after Chikane had closed Himeko's door quietly behind her. "When did you return?"

"Will you tend to Kurusugawa-san inside and help her dress for bed?" Chikane ignored the maid's question and said. "Try not to wake her up."

"As you wished, Ojou-sama." The servant, whose name Chikane did not know, gave her a solemn bow as befits Chikane's high station before she went inside.

Arms folded beneath her chest, Chikane leaned her back against the wall opposite Himeko's door and waited. Under the light of the crystal chandeliers hanging in the spacious hallway, she started to wonder what had happened inside the amusement park that could have lead to Himeko's being encapsulated by that sphere of golden light. It was then that anger rose in her heart and hissed like a viper. _And where was Oogami Souma? _she thought. She had entrusted the girl she loved to the boy, thinking that he would somehow keep Himeko safe. The Orochi Follower, regardless of whether he had overcome his innate darkness or not, had proved to be most unreliable tonight. Chikane doubted she would trust him ever again...

"What are you doing?!" Himeko's voice cried out from beyond the closed door. She sounded on the verge of panic.

"Please calm down, Kurusugawa-sama," replied the maid in a polite and patient tone. "I'm helping you get dressed for bed, as Ojou-sama has instructed me to."

"Chikane-chan's home?! Where is she?" A strangely joyous note entered the angel's voice.

"Right outside your door, I believe. Now if you would just let me..."

Thundering footfalls were all Chikane heard before the mahogany door swung open and admitted a half-dressed Himeko. Chikane's breath caught. The only pieces of clothing that the little angel had on herself right at this moment were her bra, her panties, and an unbuttoned pajama shirt hanging loosely on her slender shoulders, all of which left a fair amount of skin on her body bare. Chikane felt a blush creeping onto her cheeks. Although the sight of her sweetheart in her undergarments or even naked was nothing new to her, she could not help but feel... dizzy as if she had gulped down a glassful of alcohol.

Giving herself a mental shake, Chikane focused her attention on the face of the one she loved. Only then did she notice that the other girl's visage was being contorted with fear. Chikane frowned. _Why?_

"Chikane-chan, please, call Oogami-sensei for me!" the angel said urgently, her hands gripping Chikane's sleeves.

"Why?" Chikane asked quietly. She had the feeling she was not going to like what Himeko was about to tell her.

"Sou-chan's in danger! He's fighting an Orochi right now!" Each of those words was a hammer's blow to Chikane's heart. "Call the sensei, let him know!"

"Oogami-san is a powerful Orochi himself, Himeko. He may not need reinforcement," Chikane said, still trying to recover from the shock.

"Please, Chikane-chan!" Himeko pleaded. "I'm worried about Sou-chan. He stayed to buy time for my escape. If anything happened to him..." Tears welled up in her eyes and made Chikane felt as if someone had run a sword through her chest. The girl's panic, her urgency, and her concern toward the boy had confirmed Chikane's greatest fear. Oogami Souma's position had risen very high in Himeko's heart. And whether his was higher than Chikane's own or not... she did not think she would like to find out.

"I see." Chikane gave the angel an assuring nod. "I shall call Shingetsu immediately."

"Thank you so much, Chikane-chan." Himeko literally jumped into Chikane's arms and gave her a warm, tight hug. Sighing inwardly, Chikane returned the hug and let her hand brush the other girl's glorious stream of golden hair while trains of thoughts crisscrossed madly in her mind. Five minutes later, she realized that her secret crush had not let go of her. In fact, Chikane was under the impression that the girl had done nothing but tighten her arms around Chikane's body and rested her face against Chikane's neck.

Chikane sighed. She would have preferred to hold the girl this way forever... but she could not. Not when she still needed to call the Grand Shrine per the angel's request, not when her servant was peering at them from inside Himeko's room, her face painted with stark curiosity. Perhaps the young woman was wondering why the mistress of the Himemiya Mansion was holding her best friend in her arms so intimately, with such a blissful expression on her face.

"Ne, Himeko," Chikane called softly as her hand moved to the small of Himeko's back and stroked it gently. "Why don't you get dressed _properly_ and go to bed early today? You must have been exhausted."

"Get dressed? What do you mean? I am" the little angel pulled back and asked in a wondering tone. She stopped talking altogether the moment she realized she was only half-dressed. The angel immediately pulled the front of her pajama shirt together and walked back into her room with a complexion red enough to shame a sunset. The maid inside gave Chikane another bow and closed the mahogany door.

Pulling her cell phone out from her coat pocket, she dialed the number of Shingetsu Grand Shrine. She now had realized that when she gave the room for Himeko to live in, she had forgotten to furnish it with a phone. _Maybe I should get her a cell phone, too, _she thought.

* * *

Sitting at a round table placed just outside a coffee shop near Mahoroba City Amusement Park, Yui took the last sip from the cup of Cappuccino she ordered. It was by no means as exquisite as the coffee she was often served in the Holy City – the Immortals had grown fond of the black, bitter liquid over the years, so coffee shops rose in Heaven one after another to satisfy their need – but it was good enough to please her, she supposed. Besides, she had heard that no shop in the area brewed better coffee. The incredible amount of customers it attracted – every other seat was taken, every table was filled – surely justified that claim. She had never seen a more crowded shop during the entire time she spent in Mahoroba. 

Yui looked up at the night sky. There was no moon today, only the twinkling stars decorated the darkness of the heavens. She wondered what little Himeko and Chikane were doing now. She sighed. Those children were just clueless, and hopeless, too. They loved one another so dearly, there was nothing that could not be more obvious, yet unless they told one another how they felt outright, they would never know how much they were worth in each other's hearts. Well, that couldn't be helped in any case. Little Himeko was extremely dense in that area and Chikane... Chikane was just worrying too much.

Only one word could describe their situation, _sad_.

Yui was about to wave for a waiter and order another cup when she noticed the presence of the Tsukazaki sisters. The twins, more beautiful and richly dressed than most people in this city, were walking toward her while their graceful and elegant flowing movements drew the eyes of other customers in the shop, men's and women's alike. Upon arrival at Yui's table, Tsukazaki Haruhi and Tsukazaki Fuyura gave her a deep bow before speaking up in unison, in the same voice, with the same pitch, "We apologize for being late, Yui-sama."

"Never mind that and have a seat, Haru-chan, Fuyu-chan." Yui smiled warmly at the Tsukazaki siblings. Only after they had settled in front of her did she notice that they brought along a small box, the sweet fragrance emanating from which was distinct even amidst that of the coffee permeating the night air. Fuyura, who had the box in her hands, held it the way someone would a family heirloom. Whenever the younger Tsukazaki glanced at the box, which she did every ten seconds or so, her usually snowy complexion would grow a little bit redder and her fingertips would brush against one of its six sides in a most affectionate manner. Yui smiled. She believed she knew the one who would receive that box from the girl later, once she had returned to the Underworld.

Yui suddenly noticed that the elder Tsukazaki was looking straight at her with a strange smile on her lips. When the girl's gaze flickered toward the box in her little sister's hands, then came back to Yui's face a heartbeat later, she knew that Haruhi had finally realized that her sister had been harboring some sort of secret. Yui chuckled softly to herself. Well, well, well, wasn't this interesting?

"How are you feeling, Yui-sama?" inquired the elder Tsukazaki. "We and the Lady have been very worried about your health. Had it not been for urgent matters that requires her immediate attention, she would have come here herself."

"I'm well." Yui smiled warmly at each of the twins. "Thank you for your concern. Please tell the Lady that she doesn't have to worry. It's highly unlikely that I will drop dead any time soon." She chuckled quietly at that.

"How can you be well?" Fuyura frowned, absolutely not finding Yui's joke funny. "The weekly health reports you sent us surely indicated that there had been more seizures and violent outbursts than the last three millennia combined. You are the mighty Goddess of the Sun, but even your body cannot take all of that without suffering _severe_ internal injuries."

"My little sister is right." Haruhi nodded agreement. "I believe it was time for you to come to the Underworld for a thorough checkup, Yui-sama. If you wish, I can make the necessary arrangements right now."

"I don't have time for that, Haru-chan." Yui smiled softly. "There are still too many things I must take care of. Besides, it's too risky for me to go to Reiha."

"It is even riskier if you leave your body unchecked like this, Yui-sama," Haruhi insisted. "What if it breaks down?"

"Well, I still have the Suishou no Bara no Hagoromo to keep me safe, don't I?" Yui said with her chin propped on her interlaced hands. "I did bring it with me at all times in case of emergency, you know."

"Still!" said the Tsukazaki siblings at the same time. Yui decided to forestall them. She raised a hand, which made them fall silent.

"Shall we discuss what we come here for, Haru-chan, Fuyu-chan?" Yui was still smiling, but her firm tone made it clear that she didn't want to come to the Underworld no matter what they might say to convince her. The girls realized that, so they only sighed deeply and glanced at each other in sheer exasperation.

"So, how is everything going down there?" Yui asked.

"Well according to plan, Yui-sama," said Haruhi in resignation. "I daresay that we will have everything you require before the deadline. Let us give you a more detailed report."

When the twins were done, an hour had already passed.

"I'm very pleased, Haru-chan, Fuyu-chan," Yui said, smiling brightly at the Tsukazaki siblings. "Will you convey my message to everyone involved in the Operation that I truly appreciate their efforts?"

"We will, Yui-sama," answered the twins in unison. "Is there any other instruction for us before we leave?"

"No... actually, yes. Haru-chan, may I have a word in private with your sister?" Tsukazaki Haruhi smiled as if she had expected it. Fuyura, on the other hand, frowned at Yui suspiciously.

"So what is it, Yui-sama?" Fuyura said once her elder sister had left them alone. The younger Tsukazaki was still holding the box in her hands in such a way that she gave Yui the impression she was going to die before she let go of it. She made Yui smile.

"How much did you pay for that strawberry cheesecake, Fuyu-chan?" Yui asked offhandedly.

"A couple of thousand yen for six slices," Fuyura answered, her dark eyes flickering at the box in her hand while her cheeks reddened once more. "I know it was rather costly but the sample I tasted was very good, so..." She gave a start. "How did you know I bought a strawberry cheesecake? Did you probe the box with your powers?" the raven-haired girl demanded heatedly. Over the years, little by little, Yui had managed to earn the twins' love, but that little detail had never made Fuyura mince words with her if the girl didn't want to. In fact, of all the people in the Underworld, _Fuyura_ was the one most likely to tell Yui to her face that she was being an idiot... which the girl did... a few times.

"I can swear on my honor as a Goddess that I did no such thing." Yui laughed quietly. "I just happen to know someone in Reiha who was _extremely_ fond of that kind of cake, that's all." Fuyura's usually snowy complexion went beet-red.

"Since when did you know?" the girl asked after a while.

"Pretty much the beginning, Fuyu-chan." Yui chuckled. "I only needed a glance at you to notice that you were madly in love. After all, I once behaved the very same way."

"I see..."

"Have you made your confession?"

"Yes..."

"How did it go?" Yui knew the answer to her own question before the younger Tsukazaki opened her mouth and spoke. It couldn't have been more obvious, really, when the girl had seemed so agonized the moment she heard what Yui asked.

"I was rejected," Fuyura mumbled in a bitter voice.

"I'm very sorry, Fuyu-chan." Yui moved to the chair next to that of the younger Tsukazaki, where she gently ran her fingers through the girl's stream of glossy raven hair.

"Not your fault, it's mine," Fuyura muttered. "I was too hasty. I should have been more patient. I... should have asked Haruhi for advice before I confessed."

"Will you be okay?"

"I will." Fuyura nodded and smiled. "I am just feeling a little depressed at the moment. I will get better soon." She hesitated. "Yui-sama, do you think I should keep on trying? I mean, my feelings may never get across..."

"Why do you ask me that when you have never intended on giving up?" Yui smiled tenderly at the lovesick girl next to her while tapping her forefinger softly upon the top of the cake box. "If you have, you wouldn't have bought this, would you?"

"Well, yes," the younger Tsukazaki muttered shyly. "After all, time changes all of creation, and I have all the time in the world. I guess being an Immortal does have its perks." Fuyura laughed softly at that. The girl sounded cheerful again.

"That's a good way of thinking." Yui gave the girl a hug. "I wish you luck, Fuyu-chan." Then Yui caught sight of another girl in casual shirt and trousers standing half a dozen yards away, whose back was leaning against a wall near the entrance to the coffee shop, whose platinum long hair was deathly _still_ even in the night winds, whose gray eyes, lightless and void of emotion, were fixed at Yui herself.

"I have company," Yui said to the younger Tsukazaki as she pulled away, "so I guess I'll see you later ne, Fuyu-chan."

"As you wished, Yui-sama. And do take care of yourself." Fuyura rose gracefully to her feet, offered Yui a deep bow, then walked away.

As soon as the younger Tsukazaki was gone, the platinum-haired girl immediately took her seat. No one in the vicinity except Yui noticed that the newcomer had crossed the distance separating her initial position and what was once Fuyura's chair in less than a heartbeat. Well, mortals couldn't see what lay right in front of their eyes most of the times anyway...

"I'm impressed that you found me, Rinne-chan," Yui said with a smile. "Mind telling me how you managed that?"

"I was in the neighborhood, nee-sama," replied the stone-faced girl. "I was about to go home when I saw you. Just a coincidence." Her quiet and monotonous voice made her face seem lively. How long had it been since the girl last smiled, Yui wondered?

"In the neighborhood? Up to no good again, perhaps?" Yui chuckled quietly. "Please don't tell me those sirens that have been blaring for a while now have something to do with you."

Rinne shook her head. "No, that was not my doing." She glanced toward the direction of the amusement park. Not just sirens, Yui had heard explosions, too. She would have gone to check it out, of course, had she not had to stay here and wait for the Tsukazaki siblings. What could have been going on over there, really?

"Well then, Rinne-chan, what business have you with me today?" Rinne had never been the type who came to someone just because she wanted to say hi, that much Yui could still remember after all these years.

"Have you been visiting _him_ of late, nee-sama?" Rinne asked, her voice growing affectionate, her face soft. It was moments like this that people could see how beautiful the girl was. Too bad she hid this side of her as vigorously as any man would his treasure.

"Almost every day," Yui said quietly.

"Is he well?" Concern and love shone in the girl's gray eyes.

"There's no danger to Akira's health, Rinne-chan." Yui sighed. "He's rather haggard, but his Immortality is as strong as ever." She hesitated. "I... can't tell you _how_ I know, my dear one, but Akira has always been _grieving_ for you. He misses you a lot." A tear rolled down Yui's companion's cheek as the girl's expression turned mournful. Quietly, Yui reached out with her hand and wiped the tear off Rinne's pretty face. "Don't cry."

"I am eternally grateful to you, nee-sama." Rinne bowed to Yui where she sat. "Thank you, for having taken care of him for me during my absence." When she straightened up again, she used the sleeve of her shirt to dab at her eyes.

"You don't have to say that," Yui whispered as her hand gently stroked the girl's head. "He's my blood brother. It's natural that I watch over him as best I could." Rinne murmured something in response, but Yui couldn't tell what. Silence followed and stretched rather uncomfortably until Rinne seemed to have suddenly remembered something and pounded a fist upon her palm.

"I almost forgot, nee-sama," the platinum-haired girl said. "I saw Tsukiyomi-sama on my way here. She was floating somewhere above the Amusement Park." For some reason, her lips thinned and eyes narrowed as if in irritation. Yui wondered why. Sure, unlike Yui, Yue had never been close to Rinne to begin with, but they never did anything to offend each other_... did they_?

"Oh, were Chikane and Himeko there?" Yui asked. Those children should be the only reason why Yue would come to a place in which she had never been interested. The Goddess of the Moon did nothing except for staying close to the Priestesses and silently protecting them from the shadows these days... Yui sighed. In a way, the girls were all that Yue lived for. Should the former perish... Yui shivered.

"_Kurusugawa Himeko_ was," Rinne corrected.

"So she was... Hey wait a minute. Did she have anything to do with those explosions I heard?"

"She didn't." Rinne shook her head. "The commotion was caused by the Orochi First Head, who came for Seventh, who happened to be in there at the same time," she said matter-of-factly.

"Then do tell, Rinne-chan, why were _you_ there?" Yui peered at the platinum-haired in sheer curiosity.

"The Priestess of the Sun herself, obviously, nee-sama," Rinne answered in a flat voice. Maybe she was truly grateful to Yui... but that never stopped Rinne from talking to her the way she did to almost everybody else, of course.

"I see..." For a moment there, Yui considered letting Rinne in on the plans she herself was hatching just so the girl would leave the Priestesses alone... and rejected it. It would be much wiser to observe the situation for a little bit more before making a decision, she believed...Less dangerous and risky, too.

"How is your relationship with Tsukiyomi-sama going these days?" Rinne asked.

"Bad as ever," replied Yui with a sigh. "Whenever we met, she either mocked me or gave me the cold shoulder. I tried to ask what I have done to offend her many times, but she just wouldn't answer me."

"You did _not_ do anything, nee-sama," the platinum-haired girl said quietly. "It has _never_ been your fault."

"It's not? How so?" Yui blinked at Rinne in shock. She didn't doubt the girl, though, for Rinne never lied without good cause, and she had no cause to lie to Yui about such a personal matter.

Rinne peered back at Yui for a good five minutes as if she was pondering something in her head before she spoke in a surprisingly guarded voice, "She treated you the way she did because she _thought_ she had to _hate_ you to _live on_. Tsukiyomi-sama is that kind of person, she really is, you know." To Yui's surprise, Rinne _smiled_ softly before she rose to her feet.

"Hey, don't leave yet!" Yui said hurriedly. "What do you mean by that?"

"That is not for me to reveal, but for you to discover on your own, Amaterasu-nee-sama," Rinne answered with a bow, her slender body fading away like smoke. "Fare you well." The platinum-haired girl vanished without being noticed amidst a sea of people. Yui could only _tsk_ in exasperation. It was one thing to speak in riddles to toy with people but it was another thing to be at the receiving end. Yui had had no idea that Rinne could do something like that, being the straightforward and simpleminded girl she was. Yui scratched her head. _And why does Yue have to hate me to live on, my dear Rinne-chan? _

* * *

"The warm towel is here, sensei," Yukihito handed the Shingetsu High Priest what he had requested, which he placed upon his forehead of his brother. Oogami Souma, usually energetic and invulnerable to common diseases, now lay weakly upon his bed, his chest and torso heavily bandaged, his countenance twisted by pain even in sleep. Worse, he seemed to have been struck down by a fever so terrible heat came off from the boy's body in waves. Any mortal who was in here, Souma's own room, would probably feel as if they were standing under the midday sun of summer. The young master of Shingetsu Grand Shrine, unconscious as he was, was discharging all the energy he had taken in from the Priests. Oogami Kazuki obviously was aware of that fact the way he kept grimacing at his adopted little brother. Probably the man was wishing that he had never asked his fellow Priests to work their Healing upon the boy. 

It was a brutal business, in any case. Yukihito could still recall how thirteen Priests, the most skilled Healers under Kazuki's command, had sweated within an inch of their lives trying to heal a dozen of broken bones and internal juries in Oogami Souma's body. Yukihito would _not_ have attempted that. The High Priest, worried about his brother's life, had not stopped to consider before he screamed at his subordinates to help the boy. Kazuki should have realized that Oogami Souma, regardless of whether he had disavowed his ties to the Sinner or not, was still an Orochi Follower whose powers stemmed from the _Darkness_ of humanity. As such, there was no point in trying to make the power of the _Light_ heal him, was there?

Too bad, the Healers did not know, and Yukihito did not dare reveal that, so he could only watch thirteen elderly men trying to do the impossible by pitching their holy powers against the Orochi darkness within Souma's soul. They lost, of course, but they never noticed that they _had_ until all of them collapsed from fatigue. Result? No bone and no injury in Souma's body were healed. They _would have had _all on their own had the Priests left Souma to the care of his own self-healing powers, in fact. The only thing that the Priests had succeeded in was delaying Souma's recovery. Even now, a considerable portion of Souma's strength was being used to expel the alien energies that the Healers had forced into him. Yukihito shook his head and thought, _Ignorant mortals._

"Do we know who attacked Souma-san, sensei?" he asked. When Yukihito, Oogami Kazuki, and another bunch of Protectors of the Swords arrived at the amusement park, they only found the boy lying in his own blood, breathing very weakly, and no perpetrators at all. Well, he could have contacted the Holy Messengers to get the information himself, of course, but that would involve enormous risk that he did not exactly need at this moment.

Yukihito's eyes flickered toward the open window in Oogami Souma's room. There, he spotted many traces of powers. They were extremely faint, but to someone like Yukihito, they were unmistakable. Yukihito did not have to guess to know that he had been tailed by spies from the Underworld. He noticed them ten minutes after he ran into the twins in Downtown Mahoroba, which told him that it was they who sent the infuriating pests to shadow him. Yukihito must have slipped something to make them suspicious then... he just did not know what. Worst of all, he could not kill the spies, for that would certainly confirm the Underworld's suspicion. But well, once the Holy Messengers dealt with those sneaky creatures, Yukihito would be free.

"I know who did, Yukihito-kun," Oogami Kazuki, sitting on a chair by his brother's bed, answered quietly. "It was Tsubasa-kun."

"And that would be...?" Yukihito prompted. He had the feeling he had seen this name once before, probably mentioned in one of the numerous reports archived in the MessengerDivision's computer, but he had not had the time to read it. The best he could recall was that Tsubasa was the name of an Orochi and that was it. It did not explain why Kazuki seemed to be quite intimate with the man, who should be the High Priest's sworn enemy as well as that of humankind.

"Souma's blood brother himself," the High Priest said in a pained voice. Yukihito blinked. "I saw Tsubasa-kun earlier today, he paid me a two-second visit, you see, but I never _imagined_ in my wildest dream that he would attack Souma."

"Were the brothers close, sensei?" Yukihito asked.

"As close as they could be." Kazuki let out a long sigh. "They were inseparable as kids. Souma looked up to Tsubasa-kun the way he would his idol."

"If so, why has Souma-san never mentioned his brother before?"

"It was only natural that he hasn't," answered the High Priest. "Sit down, Yukihito-kun," the other man gestured at the second chair in the room, "and I'll tell you all about the entire story."

"Are you sure you want to, sensei?" Yukihito-said levelly, unmoving where he stood. "It is, after all, a family matter."

"Souma and I see you as family now, my young friend." Kazuki smiled. "In fact, Souma himself has been trying to tell you everything. He just never found the chance." The High Priest's hand once more gestured at the chair. Yukihito took it, meanwhile thinking how ironic it was that those mortals considered him family while his very own daughter only warmed up to him because she was afraid of what he might do to the one she loved.

"You see, Yukihito-kun," Oogami Kazuki began, "Souma's life was both a blessing and a curse. It was a blessing in that he had an angel for an elder brother. It was a curse in that his _father_ was a demon from the depth of hell." The High Priest took a deep breath, his visage roiling with anger. "Having lost their mother quite early in life, the children grew up in fear and suffering. The only things their father, a man with less humanity than a beast, were good at was consuming alcohol before he returned home every single day and then beating the brothers to a pulp." Kazuki's fists, clenched atop his lap, started to quiver.

"You must have noticed it already, Yukihito-kun, that Souma did everything he could to avoid being seen without clothes. It wasn't that he was shy. It was that he didn't want anyone to see the scars on his skin, the result of the terrible tortures he had undergone as a kid. Not just that, even his mind was scarred, for life. Even now, the boy would tremble whenever someone uttered a name that resembled that of his father."

The High Priest paused for a moment, then continued, "As you are probably aware, Souma is in love with Kurusugawa Himeko, the Priestess of the Sun. Although he had recognized her as soon as he saw her one year ago, he never told her once that he was once her childhood friend. He was afraid that she would learn the secrets of his dark, painful past, so when he realized that Kurusugawa-san didn't recognize him, he decided to start their relationship anew. For many people, the past is a fond memory. For Souma, it's something that is best forgotten."

"How was it that he was adopted into your family in the end, sensei?" Yukihito asked.

"It was a tragic business, Yukihito-kun." Oogami Kazuki massaged his forehead. "It happened quite a few years ago, back when I still knew nothing about the two children's living condition. One night, I received a phone call from an officer in a Tokyo police station in the middle of the night. He told me that Souma and Tsubasa-kun's father had been murdered, and as the children's only living relative, I had a right to know.

"Panicking, I immediately arranged for a flight to the capital, where I was finally informed of one detail the officer had left out during the phone call. The perpetrator in this murder... was none other than Tsubasa-kun himself. It was only after that was I allowed to meet the child. Yukihito-kun, Tsubasa-kun was only twelve then, but when I saw him in the police's station, he seemed to have aged at least a few years. _I have a favor to ask of you, sensei. Please take Souma with you when you leave,_ the boy had said without preamble. I can still remember the desperation in his voice, the deep sadness in his eyes, and the tears that never stopped flowing down his cheeks while he told me what he and his brother had been going through since their mother's death. I was horrified.

_"That monster was trying to kill Souma, _Tsubasa-kun told me in a broken voice. _He came home and he saw Souma doing homework. Somehow, he got angry and started beating him. I... I didn't know what to do. Souma was bleeding, and he looked like he was in so much pain. I... I... only wanted to help him so I took up the knife in the kitchen and told the monster to leave my brother alone. I didn't expect him to leap at me. The next thing I know, the knife was already in his heart._ The boy looked at his hands in horror, then, as though unable to believe what he had done to his father."

Yukihito glanced at the unconscious boy lying on his bed. If he recalled correctly, the other Orochi Followers were in no better condition. Each and every single one of them had encountered tragedies in their life, either in their early childhood or just a few years before the Orochi powers in their bodies became activated. He but wondered if it was just a coincidence... or a cruel stroke of fate.

"Yukihito-kun, I had been shocked at that time, so much so that all I could do was listen to that frightened child's story," the High Priest said mournfully. "In the end, Tsubasa-kun repeated that he wished Souma to be taken to Mahoroba with me when I left. _Deliver him out of this pit of hell, sensei, _he begged me. _I only wanted to save him from the monster, but I'm not going to get away with it. Souma only has you to rely on now, sensei. Please, grant my one final wish, raise him as your child, give him the happiness that I can never give._ As soon as he was done talking, Tsubasa-kun had fallen to his knees and bowed to me repeatedly, his forehead pounding against the concrete floor. Horrified, I tried to stop him. He never let me, even though his head was bleeding, until I agreed to adopt Souma into my family. He had wept so happily in my arms then, before he gave in to the stress and fatigue that had been plaguing his young body."

"He was a very kind brother, sensei," Yukihito said quietly.

"Nothing could be closer to the truth." Oogami Kazuki gave him a sad smile. "So I hadn't been able to believe it when I heard from Souma's mouth that Tsubasa-kun had attacked him."

Yukihito glanced at Oogami Souma again, feeling a familiar emotion fastening around his heart. He had only spent one year in the Human World but during that one year, he had been taught one thing that a few thousand years in Heaven could not. Yukihito grimaced. Feelings of _guilt_ could be so disquieting sometimes.

* * *

"I don't really understand what the First Head's thinking," Korona declared after she had taken a sip from the cup of Earl Grey tea she was holding in her hand. "He could have finished that traitor." 

"You are an only child, are you not, Fourth Head?" Without taking her eyes off of the leather-bound book on her lap, Oota Reiko took her own cup of tea from atop the table and brought it to her lips, where she enjoyed the black liquid's tangy aroma before she drank it. Boyish she might appear, the young woman was preternaturally graceful. Compared to her, the other Heads, including Korona herself, seemed at best savages.

"Yeah. So?" Korona raised an eyebrow at the other woman.

"So you cannot possibly know what an elder brother's way of thinking, evidently."

"And you do?"

"I never claimed to," answered the Fifth Head in her usually quiet and monotonous voice. "But why do you care anyway? Leave the First Head's business to himself." Reiko lifted her head and gave Korona a meaningful glance. "Besides, putting your nose in the wrong place may invite _someone_ to cut it off."

Korona _tsk'ed_. The _someone _the Fifth Head referred to was none other than Girochi Miyako, the Second Head. The woman was so obsessed over her beloved _Tsubasa-sama_ that she would do her best to kill any woman who got within two feet of the man, regardless of the fact that he willed it or not. Korona had always thought Miyako as a disgrace to the Orochi team the way she kept mooning over a man who obviously didn't want her for a lover. It was pathetic.

"Fourth Head," Oota Reiko said. The woman was gazing toward the sky over the garden of the Temple of the Dragons. "Do you know that girl?" Her face was troubled.

Follow Reiko's line of sight, Korona's Orochi-enhanced eyes found two figures, one carried in the other's arms, approaching the highest level of the Temple, where the Lord dwelled. One of the two, the one who did the carrying, was the Sixth Head Hibiki Shizuku, self-styled Nekoko and known to her comrades as a cat-fanatic. The other one, surprisingly, was a girl with short brown hair, a pair of large emerald eyes, and a cute face most men would find very appealing. Still... why would an Orochi Follower bring a mortal into the lair of the people who were supposed to devastate mankind?

"I don't know, Reiko." Korona shook her head.

"I cannot be sure," the mangaka said quietly, "but I think that girl is the roommate of the Priestess of the Sun."

Korona frowned. That would be even stranger, still. What was the cat-fanatic trying to achieve by inviting a friend of their greatest foe here, she wondered?

* * *

"Enter, dear Saotome-san," Hibiki Shizuku, who requested to be called Nekoko, said as she held the door open. "The Lord is waiting." 

Not saying a word, Saotome Makoto walked in. She had never been able to feel at ease around the woman no matter what Nekoko claimed to be, or what the woman had done for Makoto. Sure, the Follower had restored Makoto's leg to its uninjured state and returned her ability to walk like a normal person... but the woman could never erase the impression she had given Makoto. Grateful toward the Orochi as Makoto was, she could not help but feel that Nekoko was one woman who would slaughter her own family should doing so gain her an inch of advantage. Regardless of what might happen here, Makoto was going to keep an eye on her just to be safe.

Beyond the door was a large wooden chamber that was empty except for the huge crystal sphere that floated at its center. The thing, glowing with a different color after every blink of an eye, gave Makoto the creeps.

"Welcome home, Saotome Makoto." A male voice, booming from out of nowhere, made Makoto jump. She had never heard one that was more powerful, or more malicious. The voice could make the best villain in any movie she watched seem innocent as a lamb. Perhaps this was what it meant by _the embodiment of evil, _Makoto thought. "Welcome home, Eighth Head of the Orochi."

"Are you inside that... thing?" Makoto asked, eyes peering at the sole object in this wooden room.

"In the Crystal Orb, yes, my child," the voice of the Dark God answered. He sounded almost fond.

"Why are you in there?"

"Let's just say I am still trying to recover from the injuries sustained in the battle with Ame no Murakumo three thousand years ago. Child, you know who he is, do you not?"

"Your nemesis," Makoto answered. "Nekoko told me the gist of the story on the way here." Makoto had had a hard time believing the Orochi Sixth Head's words... but when the woman showed her this Temple of the Dragons, she couldn't help but swallow her own doubts. After all, if they could build a grand structure – with a large garden! – that surfed upon the highest clouds like a ship would wavesthe things they said could bloody well be the truth. Well... _could be_. Makoto wasn't so naïve that she would buy any story without suspicion.

"I sensed that you still have much to ask me, child. What is it?"

"I was told I'm one of you, like Oogami Souma," Makoto said. "If so, why am I so powerless? Nekoko claimed an Orochi could detect another's presence from afar... but I felt nothing from her, or from _you, _whom she claimed to be my liege lord. Why's that?"

"Nekoko never explained the reasons to you?" The Dark God's quiet voice gave Makoto the impression that had he a face, he would be frowning.

"She said that she herself isn't sure she can answer _all_ my questions," Makoto said in a voice that was equally quiet.

"That is true enough." The Orochi Lord chuckled. He sounded like a boulder of rock that was rolling down a steep slope of a hill. "Very well then, I shall address each and every one of your concerns." His voice grew serious. "My sweet child, you were powerless even in the day I awakened your brothers and sisters because I could not _find_ you."

"You couldn't _find_ me?" Makoto said in incredulity. "I was practically under your nose!"

"True, like every other Orochi, you are within my reach," the Dark God said patiently, "yet someone had been barring my way to you and concealing your existence from me. I have been trying desperately to look for you from day one, sweet daughter... yet thanks to that _someone_, I never succeeded."

"Who's that?" Makoto asked curiously.

"Your roommate, the Priestess of the Sun herself."

"She's just a teenaged girl, and you a _God_. It's impossible that she could hide me from you," Makoto said skeptically. "Besides, Nekoko told me she hasn't been awakened yet. What could she do?"

"You will be surprised what she can manage even when she cannot draw a hundredth of her powers, child," replied Yamata no Orochi. "Makoto, your encounter with Kurusugawa Himeko was simply a terrible stroke of misfortune. Had it been any other Orochi Head in your place, they would still awaken when I called out to them and kill the Priestess on the spot. You, however, are a special case, for you are my Eighth Head, one born to wield the power of the _Shadows_. You must know that either of the Priestesses is the very personification of the _Sacred Light_, which makes her _your_ natural enemy. Ever since she was put in the same room as you, she had unknowingly been drowning you in her holy light.

"The major difference between the girl and you is that her powers have been active from the start, although she could not control them, while yours lay dormant within your body. It was, in short, a losing battle from the very start. You cannot imagine how one year of bunking in with her has changed you, my child. During that one year, her powers never stopped flowing out of the Priestess's body, and _seeping_ into you, _sealing_ you, _mutating_ you. As a result, your nature as an Orochi was lost forever, the very reason I could not locate you, why your brothers and sisters never realized you were one of us."

"Then how did Nekoko find me?" Makoto demanded.

"Pure luck, child," the Dark God answered. "It was pure luck that Nekoko was assigned to be your doctor. Else, she would never have had the chance to get close to you and notice your transcending strength."

"What strength?" Makoto blinked.

"The strength that the Priestess had helped you grow, sweet child of mine." The legendary Dragon God chuckled again. "I do believe I owe her a thank-you for that. Dear Makoto, yours powers, despite having fought a losing battle during the last year, never stopped resisted the Priestess's own, so they ended up being pushed and pushed toward the limits. As a result, you have grown so powerful you can easily match the Priestess herself. It was not very difficult for Nekoko to notice that once she had gotten within two feet of you."

Quietly, Makoto looked at her two hands. The Dark God claimed she was as powerful as Himeko, who, supposedly, was the strongest human on Earth... but Makoto certainly didn't seem that way. Suddenly, a thought struck her.

"You know why I came here, don't you?" she demanded of the God that was hiding within the Crystal Orb.

"Yes," Yamata no Orochi admitted. "You sought me out because you thought I could give you what you desired most." His thundering voice dropped to a quiet whisper that reeked of triumph and amusement. "_The Priestess of the Sun! _You want her love!"

"I do," Makoto said. "Nekoko assured me that you, an omnipotent deity, could make Himeko change her mind and fall in love with me instead of..." Himemiya Chikane's name was stuck in Makoto's throat. She had never been able to utter that name without feeling herself overwhelmed by despair and bitterness.

"I can do that," the Dark God agreed. "Altering the heart of a mortal is but a simple task for a God like myself."

"Can you, now?" Makoto demanded. "She's one of the Summoners of your nemesis. It's unthinkable that you're going to spare her life!"

"Had I _wanted_ to kill her, she would have been able to stay alive past her birthday, Makoto," the Orochi Lord declared. "Believe me, there are ways to achieve what we _both_ desire. I can swear on my honor as a God."

Makoto took her time weighing the Dark God's words in her mind before she fell to one knee and said, "Then my powers, if you can make them work, are yours."

The Dark God laughed. It seemed as if he was laughing into a microphone connected with a pair of speakers that were blaring at full capacity. Makoto's ears hurt from the sounds so much she thought they were going to bleed.

"Behold, child of the mighty Orochi," the voice of Yamata no Orochi said once his mirth had subsided, "the means I will employ to restore your powers!" The Crystal Orb was glowing more brightly than ever, dying everything within the spacious chamber in its ever changing light, but for some reason a small... pond of pitch darkness right in front of the thing, which Makoto never noticed, managed to survive unscathed. Then, all of a sudden, a sword leapt upward from the darkness and suspended itself in thin air. The weapon's blade, unlike that of any sword Makoto had seen in museums or western movies, was so black it seemed to be sucking in the light radiating from the Orb.

"Tasogare the Twilight Blade," the Dark God announced in a soft, satisfied voice, "the Sealed Sword you were meant to have, Makoto. I have been letting the other Heads tap into its powers just so they could protect themselves... but now you have returned to us, it is yours once more. Take it and reign as the strongest of the Followers. Take it and let your souls be united as one!" he urged.

Makoto put her hands on the hilt of the sword... and screamed at the powers that exploded within her while the Dark God unleashed his awful gust of laughter once more.

* * *

The teacup fell from Korona's hand and shattered to pieces upon touching the table. Unconsciously she hugged herself tightly and shivered as though she had just jumped head first into a winter pond. 

"What... what was that just now, Reiko?" she asked the Fifth Head, whose eyes had gone as wide as they could behind her glasses. The young woman never noticed that her thick book had dropped onto the ground the way she gazed intently toward the Audience Chamber of the Lord.

"I do not know, Fourth Head," the mangaka said after a while. She took her glasses off and cleaned the lenses with a handkerchief she pulled from her coat pocket. Korona wondered if it was fear that she had caught a glimpse of in the other woman's face.

"I do, my comrades," Nekoko said, calmly walking toward them. "The Eighth Head has returned."

"Eighth Head? You mean... the Priestess's roommate?" Korona mumbled.

"Oh, you recognized her." Nekoko smiled. "Yes, she is the one."

"Then the shockwave of powers we felt was hers?" Reiko said, her eyebrows furrowing together in a deep frown. "I never expected that someone other than First Head can be so..."

"Strong?" Nekoko cut Reiko off and laughed. Korona never liked the woman's laughter. Now, she decided that she hated it more than anything in the world. "You have no idea, comrades."

Korona said nothing and looked up at the highest level of the Temple, directly under the Dark Sun. The powers spreading from within it now had subsided... yet Korona didn't think she was able to forget how terrible the thing was, ever. The First Head was the strongest she knew but the man himself was still a step lower compared to the Eighth Head. With this sudden addition to their forces, what would become of them now?

* * *

Makoto glanced at the black sword in her hand and quietly marveled at the powers with which it had gifted her. She had never felt more alive. She had never been so aware of the fabric of reality woven all around her the way she was now. With the preternatural strength coursing inside her veins now, she could just reach out her hand... and make the world tremble in her grasp. Even her mind, once dull as a rock, now was equipped with the ability to sense presences of power... across the globe. There were four of them within the vicinity of the Temple, the strongest of them was pulsing like a human heart inside the Crystal Orb while the other three were somewhere in the garden Makoto had seen before she came into this Chamber. She glanced at the Orb... Why would the Dark God prophesized to wreak havoc upon the land seem barely stronger than her at the moment? 

"Makoto," Yamata Orochi called softly. "Now that you have been properly awakened. I have a mission for you."

"What is it, Lord?" still on her knees, Makoto asked.

"In Izumo, where the Immortals dwell, there is something I need. You shall bring it to me."

Then, the Dark God, by means of telepathic communication, whispered into Makoto's mind what she needed to enter the World of the Gods.

* * *

"How are you feeling, Souma?" Oogami Kazuki asked his younger brother, who had just woken up from his slumber, who was now sitting dejectedly upon his bed. 

"If you mean my health, I'm fine, nii-san," answered the boy, his hand gingerly touching the bandages around his chest and torso. Kazuki grimaced. Even without the Priests' intervention, those ribs that Tsubasa-kun broke had healed all on their own, which meant that all their efforts paid in the beginning were practically in vain. Kazuki only wished he had stayed calm instead of panicking and driving his fellow Priests to exhaustion just to realize that they had accomplished nothing but delaying the boy's own recovery process.

"You told me Tsubasa-kun attacked you when we found you in the amusement park," Kazuki decided to be direct. There was no point in wasting time now. "What did he want from you?"

"He wanted me to join the Orochi," Souma muttered in bitterness.

"You refused," Kazuki observed.

The boy nodded. "Tsubasa-nii-san didn't like to hear that," his voice was ominous, his face twisted in agony, "He wanted me to reconsider and gave him the final answer at midnight. He threatened to use the darkness in Raien to control me should I say no to him again." The boy turned to Kazuki. "What should I do?"

Kazuki studied his adopted little brother for a while, weighing words in his head, before he sighed and said, "What can you do? You can't win against Tsubasa-kun, you can't accept his offer, and you can't outrun him. What can you do?" It might hurt as much as rubbing salt against an open wound... but it was still the truth. Kazuki didn't believe the boy needed anything else at the moment.

"You really think I can't win?" Souma asked.

"Yes." Kazuki gave him a sad nod.

"Why? You, who have had Raien in your possession since forever, know as well as I do how powerful it is, don't you, nii-san?"

"Raien is almost as tough as Hokuto the Star Blade, what your brother wields, that much is granted," Kazuki agreed. "But Souma, the difference in the Sealed Sword's powers has never been the deciding factor."

"It's not?"

"You have fought, and won, against three other Orochi Followers, Souma. What do you think of their strength?"

"Relatively weak," the kid answered. "Even though one of them was very skilled with his Sword, that was pretty much all he could do. Tsubasa-nii-san was light-years ahead of them in term of firepower."

"That's where you're wrong." Kazuki heaved a deep sigh. "The Eight Elemental Blades, despite having their own respective weaknesses, are very close to each other in term of strength. Those three Orochi should possess _almost_ as much firepower as you do, Souma." He fixed his eyes on the kid to make sure his words were driven home. "The only reason why the Followers couldn't demonstrate the might of their Elemental Blades was that they had been _suppressed_ by Raien's special gift, the Voice of Sorrow which nullified any and all magical weapons within its range."

"But if that was the case, how could Tsubasa-nii-san use his Sealed Sword?" Souma made a choking sound in his throat. "Raien was right by my side! It should have had some effect on Hokuto, shouldn't it?"

"And yet it didn't," Kazuki said softly. "That can only mean that Hokuto was immune to Raien's power-suppressing ability. And it _is_, for the Star Blade also possesses the same unearthly voice that Raien has."

"That doesn't change anything, nii-san," Souma countered.

"On contrary, it changes everything. Having lost the advantage granted to you by the Voice of Sorrow, all that matters now is the difference in strength between _you_ and _Tsubasa-kun_, not the Swords." Kazuki sighed. "Although I can't be sure whether you're stronger than him or he you, I know that he can defeat you easily."

"Why?" Souma demanded.

"Don't you see, little brother?" Kazuki asked. "Unlike you, your blood brother's a Follower at heart. Like his comrades, he embraces his dark destiny and accepts his Orochi powers as a part of himself... while you, on the other hand, do your best to _reject_ them. Do you think you can win against him in such a disadvantageous condition?"

"I don't reject my powers," his little brother muttered sullenly.

"You don't? Souma, I have been watching you whenever you practiced with the Lightning Blade in the back garden. It didn't take me long to realize that you could only manage to draw out half of Raien's powers." Kazuki looked into his brother's eyes. "You were _afraid_, weren't you? Of the possibility that your sanity could be devoured by the darkness lurking within the sword. Of the possibility that you would once again bare your Blade against the one you love. I know you too well, my little brother."

The boy kept silent and stared at the wooden floor.

"In a way, I'm very happy that you're aware of the dangers. The more of Raien's powers you draw, the closer your soul would become to that of the sword, and the easier it would be for the Dark God to exert his influence on you." Kazuki shook his head in desperation. "Yet, unless you could utilize the Lightning Blade to the fullest, Tsubasa-kun would defeat you again. It's a no-win situation, Souma."

"How do you know all this, nii-san?"

"The Sealed Swords have been in the care of the Council of Priests for the last three thousand years, Souma," Kazuki answered. "We know almost everything there is to know about them." He grimaced. _Almost_ was the keyword there. Try as the Council might, they had never been able to dig a scrap of information out of one of the Elemental Blades, which was supposedly the most dangerous of them all.

"You stay here, Souma." Kazuki rose from his chair. "I will convene an emergency meeting with the Protectors in the Shrine to find a method to deal with the current situation."

"Nii-san," Souma called out to him when he was about to open the door and leave.

"Yes?"

"Why is it that only Hokuto and Raien possess the Voice of Sorrow? Wouldn't it be better for the Orochi if all the Swords have it?"

"My colleagues and I wondered about that too, kiddo. Unfortunately, we never learned the reason before the Swords were taken away from us."

"I see."

Kazuki closed the door to Souma's room behind him and walked toward the Great Hall of the Grand Shrine. There was a way to avert the disaster that was about to descend upon their heads... but it was one option Kazuki had prepared for the final battle that decided the fate of mankind... He only hoped the upcoming meeting could help discover another way to keep his little brother safe.

* * *

As soon as Oogami Souma sensed the High Priest's presence fading away, he rose from the bed and walked to his wardrobe, from which he picked out a casual shirt and a pair of trousers to replace the pajama he currently wore. When he was done, he quietly summoned Raien into his hand and used it to open a Dimensional Portal. Grimacing at the Sealed Sword, he walked into the silvery surface and let it close behind him. He absolutely was not going to sit in his room and waited until the problem solved itself. Perhaps he never had a chance to win against Tsubasa-nii-san... but surely he wasn't going to let it stop him from trying now was he? After all, there was still someone he wanted to protect For that person, he was going to defeat Tsubasa-nii-san tonight, or die trying.

* * *

"Rare of you to visit us in the dead of night so, Oogami-san," Himemiya Chikane observed. Under the light spreading out from the grand crystal chandelier hung below the ceiling of the Main Hall, Oogami Souma appeared decidedly haggard and plagued by anxiety. He looked almost an entirely different person from the normally cool and proud Jin-sama whom many a student of Ototachibana Academy were ever fond of. The injuries he had taken earlier today must have contributed something to this change of façade, Chikane supposed. "Would you like some tea?" she offered. Regardless of what she felt toward him, he had arrived at her house as a guest. As such, he was entitled to the courtesy she would have shown anybody else. Besides... he deserved it. 

"No, thank you, Himemiya," Oogami answered quietly.

"Well then, how may I help you?"

"Himemiya..." the boy hesitated. No, he did not seem his usual self at all. "Will you... let me see Kurusugawa?"

Chikane gave the young master of Shingetsu Grand Shrine a searching look before she answered, "She is asleep right now, Oogami-san. Come back in the morning, and I am sure Kurusugawa-san will be delighted to meet with you." Bitterness soured her stomach.

"I can't wait that long," Oogami insisted. "I'm not going to wake her. I'll just take a look at her before I go. I beg of you." Chikane peered at the boy, slightly taken aback by his words. Ever since Chikane first met Oogami Souma upon enrollment in Ototachibana Academy, she had realized at once that pride was all that embodied his existence. Never before had she seen him act so humble. Never before had she heard him beg.

"Will you tell me why?" Chikane asked softly.

Oogami stared at her for a good minute, probably considering her question in his mind, before he gave his head a firm shake. "I'm sorry, Himemiya. It's a... family affair."

"Very well," Chikane said as she rose from the couch. "Follow me, Oogami-san."

Oogami Souma appeared to have swallowed his own tongue.

Together, they climbed the marble flight of stairs leading to the second floor of the Himemiya Mansion, then walked in silence in the spacious hallway in the West Wing, with Oogami Souma trailing a few feet behind Chikane. She could almost feel his wondering eyes upon her back, she could almost hear the question hanging at the tip of his tongue. Were Chikane to guess, she would say that the boy was still unable to believe that she had just agreed to his request so easily, so quickly, and so unconditionally. After all, he was well aware of the hostility with which she had always treated him. After all, he probably knew that she had not found it in herself to forgive his attempt to murder Himeko on her birthday.

Chikane sighed inwardly. She only allowed Oogami Souma to see Himeko because she could _not_ refuse him. Indeed, she had been very angry at him earlier this evening because she thought he had not fulfilled his duty of protecting Himeko. However, when she learned that he had sustained grievous injuries to buy time for the golden-haired girl's escape, that anger immediately melted away. Chikane allowed herself another sigh. Moreover, Oogami Souma had saved Himeko's life once when the woman of Orochi used her Sword to part the skin on the little angel's back. That debt she had yet to repay. That was the only reason Chikane would permit an _Orochi_ to venture this far into the Himemiya Mansion.

"Please wait here for a moment," Chikane said upon their arrival at the door to Himeko's room. The boy nodded, uncertainty still lingering upon his handsome face.

Chikane knocked softly on the door, wait a few seconds, then opened it. The golden-haired girl – lying on her side upon the soft mattress of her bed, inside a room illuminated by the dim bed lamps – seemed immersed in a deep yet peaceful slumber. After Chikane called the Shingetsu High Priest earlier in the evening per Himeko's request, she had come back to this very room to ask what had gone wrong in the amusement park of Mahoroba. The little angel did her best to tell Chikane the whole story but toward the end, fatigue had caught up with her and put her to sleep.

"Enter, Oogami-san," Chikane said as she held the door open. "Please do not wake her."

Not wasting any time, Oogami Souma walked in, crossed the room with the grace and quietness of a cat, and arrived at Himeko's bedside. There, he fell to one knee and started to study Himeko's sleeping face with an expression so tender even a blind person would notice that the boy was looking at the one he loved. Still standing at the door step, Chikane allowed herself a second inward sigh. She was about to leave to give the boy some time alone with the little angel when he rose back to his feet and exited the room.

"That was quick, Oogami-san," Chikane commented as she closed the door softly behind her.

"I told you I only wanted to look at her, didn't I?" Oogami gave her a quiet smile. It had been the first time that he smiled to her ever since they met. Then his visage grew solemn as he offered her a deep, respectful bow. "You have my gratitude, Himemiya."

"And you mine," Chikane answered and gave him a bow of her own. "I thank you for all you have done for Himeko's sake." Shock and incredulity were visible in Oogami's eyes as he stared unblinking at her. Then after a few minutes, as if he had realized that he was staring, the boy gave his head a few shakes before his face grew red with embarrassment... and what Chikane knew to be shame. She wondered why.

"Is there anything else I can help you with, Oogami-san?"

"No." The boy shook his head, then snapped his fingers and summoned a Dimensional Portal that hovered vertically by his side. It was only then did Chikane realize that her vision was no longer the same. She had seen Oogami do this once before, when he took Himeko from her arms after the beach incident, but at that time, she only perceived the Portal as a silvery surface. Now, for reasons she could not comprehend, she was able to see the threads of power from which the Portal was woven and how they all laced together in an extremely intricate pattern. And strangest of them all, Chikane believed that should she choose to do so, she could weave a Portal with less than half the effort.

"Well then, I'll excuse myself." Oogami Souma gave her one last bewildered look before he stepped into the silvery surface and vanished along with the thing.

Her head filled with thoughts, Chikane went back inside Himeko's room and sat on Himeko's bed, her back leaning against the headboard. There, she studied the sleeping form of the little angel in silence. _Your knight in shining armor came to visit you just now, Himeko,_ she thought, _You know ne, I used to be disgusted by his very presence, yet since I learned that he was your childhood friend... he unsettled me more than anyone ever did. He made me feel so insecure at times I even started to fear that one day he was going to take you away from me... forever._

Chikane took one of Himeko's hands into hers and held it gently. _I used to be very confident that it would be I whom you would choose in the end. Now, I am not so sure anymore. Tell me please, Himeko, what am I to you? Someone who lives under the same roof? Someone who goes to the same school? Someone who is your only comrade? Or something more than that? Tell me, Himeko, how do I square with your childhood friend in your heart? Is there any way for me to continue loving you without seeing you leave in the end?_

* * *

Stepping out from the Dimensional Portal that he created in the hallway of the Himemiya Mansion, the first thing Oogami Souma saw in the deserted square near the coffee shop in Mahoroba City's Amusement Park was his brother's blade-slender frame. Under the starry skies, swathed in the light of the lamp posts, standing upon a ground cratered by Hokuto's fearsome attacks, Tsubasa-nii-san was idly puffing his cigarette. From the relaxing expression on the man's face, he did not seem to register the fact that he was standing amid the destruction he himself had crafted, or the fact that the stench of death was in every breath of air he inhaled. 

"Your punctuality is laudable, Souma," commented the older man. "I am happy that you came."

"If I didn't, you would raze my home to the ground. Do I have a choice?"

"You are indeed my little brother, Souma." Tsubasa-nii-san smiled. "You know me well."

"Not really," Souma said in a cold voice, "I'm just familiar with how an Orochi would think."

"Same thing," the older man replied absent-mindedly. "More importantly, though, what is your answer, Souma?" Dark, glittering eyes regarded Souma calmly.

Not saying a word, Souma raised his arm horizontally to the ground and channeled his powers until the air around his hand shimmered in heat. Tsubasa-nii-san only watched with an expressionless face while lightning forked from Souma's fingertips and wove themselves into a shaft of blinding purple light. It only took another second for Raien the Sealed Sword to materialize into Souma's grasp. The other man's face hardened, his eyes grew cold, and his mouth twisted in distaste. He did not appear pleased.

"Same answer as before, huh?" Tsubasa-nii-san took the cigarette from his lips and tossed it away. A flame coming out of nowhere reduced the thing to cinders before it could reach the apex of its climb. "Well then, do not ask me later why I do not show mercy to you, Souma." The older man raised his hand overhead, his palm facing the starlit heavens. _"Descend, Lord of the Hallowed Stars,_ Hokuto_!"_ his voice rang coldly across the night.

At Tsubasa-nii-san's call, winds screeched and howled as an amazingly powerful aura swept across the earth, hurling the small pebbles away from him. Even Souma felt threatened by the amount of energy welling up like the strongest tides within his brother's body. The ground shook, the trees swayed and the air trembled in the wake of the Star Blade, termed strongest of the Sealed Swords. Cold white light poured out of the man's hand and solidified into the crooked sword which gleamed dangerously under the moonless skies.

Fully aware that the man in front of him would be the toughest opponent he had ever faced, Souma released his powers into the Lightning Blade. Purple lightning dancing from Raien's edge struck the earth and drew ragged lines across the ground. He lunged at Tsubasa-nii-san then, throwing everything he got at the Orochi Follower, hoping he could defeat the man before he himself was defeated.

His legs unmoved, Tsubasa-nii-san swung Hokuto in a horizontal arc. The two blades met in a thunderous roar and a shower of sparks.

_"I will not give in, Tsubasa-nii-san!"_ Souma snarled at the other man.

_"Believe me, you will, Souma!"_ Tsubasa-nii-san roared back.

* * *

"You are awake, Himeko," Himemiya Chikane observed, slightly surprised. A moment ago, the Priestess of the Sun was still soundly asleep when Chikane opened the door and received a cup of coffee from the on-duty maid. When Chikane closed it and turned around, she found the golden-haired girl sitting on the bed, her amethyst eyes gazing into the distance beyond one of her room's windows. Most notably, a golden light was shining beneath the fabric of the little angel's pajama shirt, right where Chikane knew the Sun Crest should be. She wondered why. 

"Did I disturb your rest?" putting the billowing cup of coffee on the table, she sat down by Himeko's side on the bed and asked.

"No." The other girl shook her head. When she turned to look Chikane in the eye afterwards, her face was painted with worries. "Do you see that, Chikane-chan?" The little angel gestured at the window, beyond the darkness of which light, sometimes purple, sometimes white, was dancing madly between the heavens and earth. Chikane glanced at the Sun Crest hidden beneath Himeko's clothes. That light in the distance... it seemed to flash in resonance with that of the source of illumination in the middle of Himeko's chest. _Was that what had roused her from her sleep?_ Chikane wondered.

"Yes, Himeko, what of it?"

"It's a battle," the little angel answered with a voice that matched her facial expression. "Sou-chan's fighting someone out there." She put a hand on Chikane's shoulder. It was sweaty, and it was trembling. "I don't know why, but I can feel what's in their hearts. Anger, pain, and so many other scary things..." Her voice shook, and her amethyst eyes were emblazoned with fear.

Chikane once again glanced at the window. A battle, Himeko had said, one that involved her childhood friend Oogami Souma. Was that why the boy came here earlier to visit the golden-haired girl? Come to think of it, he did seem like someone who was on his deathbed, who wanted to have his final wish fulfilled before he could depart this world in peace. Perhaps that was the reason he suddenly treated Chikane humility and respect instead of flaring his overblown pride at Chikane as he used to. Well, the prospect of death changed a person's behavior drastically, she supposed.

"Chikane-chan," Himeko called to her, the girl's voice anxious. "Will you take me to where Sou-chan is?" She had both hands on Chikane's shoulders now.

"Why, Himeko?" she asked, feeling her heart clench. "If we can see the signs of battle here, it must be very fierce. We will run the risk of losing our lives should we get near them. Besides, what can we do?" There were a few things Chikane could do, actually, but she was not sure whether they were enough to let her meddle in the fight of two powerful Orochi and survive unscathed.

"I know that, but I have to do something, Chikane-chan," the little angel insisted. "Sou-chan's an important person to me. I don't want to lose him. Please, Chikane-chan!" she pleaded. The sincerity and the urgency in her voice shook Chikane to the core of her existence. She had the feeling that something within her just broke.

"Well then, let us go together, Himeko," Chikane said as she pulled her sweet little angel into a tight hug. "You should change into something warm. It is really cold out there." Her heart ached so terribly she was almost unable to feel the soft body of the one she loved.

* * *

_"Why, Tsubasa-nii-san, why do you have to be an Orochi?"_ Oogami Souma screamed, slashing his Raien fiercely at the older man. 

"Simple, it is the Followers' destiny to become servants of the Lord," meeting blade with blade, strokes after strokes, Souma's brother answered. His voice was calm as a frozen pond even when both he and Souma were aware that should Raien touch the man's flesh, his life would be forfeited in less than a heartbeat. Yet, Souma had a feeling Tsubasa-nii-san was confident that such a thing wasn't going to happen. Souma agreed, however reluctantly. Although his brother's swordsmanship was not as good as the Orochi with the Water Blade, it was more than enough to deflect any attack Souma threw at him. Besides, it was not as if he could bring himself to hurt his blood brother anyway. All he ever wanted... was to find a way so that both of them could survive afterwards.

_"Destiny? Then how do you explain why I am fighting you right now?" _Souma leaped up and brought Raien down with his full weight. The only way to solve this problem right now was to blast the Star Blade away from Tsubasa-nii-san and deprived him of his powers. Once Souma accomplished that, restraining his brother wouldn't be impossible anymore. _Then... then... _Souma trembled at the thought in his mind,_ perhaps we can be a family again._

"Would you stop raising your voice, Souma? It is unseemly." Tsubasa-nii-san raised his Hokuto upward and caught Raien in one of its crooks. Then just like what happened earlier, his hand placed itself an inch away from Souma's chest, preparing to unleash his devastatingly light. However, this time Souma was prepared. Twisting his wrist, he separated Raien from Hokuto and moved the blade between Tsubasa-nii-san's hand and his body.

White and purple light burst out at the same time as a deafening explosion threw Souma and Tsubasa-nii-san apart. Even when Souma had had to stagger a few steps backward before he regained his balance, his brother stood exactly where he was before the impact, face unperturbed, eyes glowing with joy. The man's full-mouth smile was decidedly disturbing.

"The same trick won't work twice, nii-san," Souma said coolly.

"What have we here?" Tsubasa-nii-san chuckled. "You did not possess nearly as much power earlier today, Souma. Does that mean you have finally loosened your grip on Raien's own soul?"

"So what, nii-san?" Souma said.

"I am just curious, little brother. Say, do you know the consequences of what you are doing?"

"I do," he admitted gruffly.

"And you are fine with it? Tell me, how are you feeling right now?"

"None of your businesses, Tsubasa-nii-san." The truth was... Souma had never felt any better. His strength was rising with an alarming rate, his body brimming with enough energy to level this whole park to the ground. Yet, the signs of danger had already begun to surface. Along with the boundless powers came a dark shadow weighing on his mind. Somewhere deep within his soul, something was urging him to release it completely, raving _Kill! Kill! Kill!_ inside his head all the while. Souma could feel his own eyes burn with the flame of hate, his heart swell with murderous intents. In his hand, Raien, the greatest danger of all pulsed viciously. He had to end this quickly, or the sword was going to swallow his sanity whole.

"Is that so?" Tsubasa-nii-san laughed.

"Nii-san, I am an Orochi Follower, too, but unlike you, I am fighting to save this world. If it is not my destiny to destroy, then it's not yours either!" Souma decided to try talking to his brother. The difference in their power was too great. Souma's plan of defeating Tsubasa-nii-san was obviously not going well.

"Nonsense, Souma," the older man scoffed.

"You know it's not, Tsubasa-nii-san!" Souma pleaded. "Please think about it, nii-san! Come back to the light and help me save everything before it's too late."

"Save everything? Why should I?" Tsubasa-nii-san slashed his Hokuto at the ground. Like huge shark fins parting the water surface, hundreds of triangular blades of cold white light emerged from where the Star Blade touched the earth and rushed toward Souma.

Once again, he jumped high up into the sky. The blades did not stop their pursuit, though. They sprang up from the ground and became deadly rays which targeted him from all sides. Undaunted by the relentless attacks, Souma swirled Raien around himself. The lightning bolts emerged from the sword and together, they wove a spinning barrier about Souma's body. As the white blades crashed upon his defense, they were forced to change directions and had no other places to go but thundering downward. Another series of explosions broke out. Deserted booths and trees alike were burnt to ashes in an instant.

Out of nowhere, Tsubasa-nii-san appeared, inches away from Souma, sword slashing downward.

_Oh no!_ Souma thought. The lightning barrier had begun to fade and there was just no time to construct a new one. Having no other choice, Souma hurled Raien against Hokuto, knowing that he was behind in both timing and strength. The aftershocks sent him flying toward the earth like a rock boulder and slammed Souma's back upon the hard, paved ground. Blood spilled out from his mouth in nozzles. Yet, Souma had no time to wait for the pain to subside. Using Raien as leverage, Souma leapt up again just in time to escape Hokuto's crooked blade, which drove itself into the earth where Souma lay one heartbeat ago.

Terrified, Souma stood there and gasped for breath while his elder brother pulled Hokuto off the ground and walked toward him with a face that spoke volumes of fury and anguish. _"Souma, why should I save a world that I do not love?!" _he roared as his hand brought down his blazing sword.

* * *

"Are you ready, Himeko?" Himemiya Chikane asked softly. In front of her stood Kurusugawa Himeko, the love of her life, properly dressed in the red and white colors of Ototachibana Academy's uniform, face more determined than Chikane had ever seen. 

"I am," answered the little angel.

"Then shall we go?" Chikane said, her right hand, palm facing skyward, slowly rose up. Powers exploded at the core of her soul and coursed along ever of her fibers of existence. On the ground beneath her feet, a disc of silver light, bearing the shape of the Moon Crest, emerged and flooded Himeko's room with its glorious luminescence. The night winds of October, as if summoned by the light, streamed into the room through the open windows, bringing along the fragrance of the flowers planted in back garden of Chikane's house.

"What is this?" the golden-haired girl said in a wondering voice, her amethyst eyes glued at Chikane in amazement.

"Something that can take you to your childhood friend immediately, Himeko," Chikane replied. "Now, come here." She waved at the girl she loved. Not hesitating, Himeko walked to her and did not stop until she stood on the spinning Moon Crest. The other girl only looked up at Chikane and smiled, then, seemingly satisfied by Chikane's vague answer.

"Are you not afraid, Himeko?" she asked curiously. "For all I know, this may just transport us to somewhere on the other side of the world."

The little angel shook her head. "I believe in you, Chikane-chan," she said softly. "As long as you're with me, I know everything will be alright." She took Chikane's vacant hand into both of hers and squeezed it in a most affectionate way, her confident smile never wavered on her lips.

"Thank you, Himeko..." Chikane overturned her palm. Silver light erased the world. _For trusting me_...

Silver light erased the world.

* * *

_"What do you know about this world, Souma? What do you know?!" _Tsubasa snarled between the clashing sounds of the blades. Although his little brother could only retreat step after step, blow after blow, seemingly tired to death, the boy refused never let go of his own Sealed Sword and submitted to Tsubasa's will. That made him grow even angrier. Souma was not going to join him in the ranks of the glorious Orochi, was he? _Was he?_

_"Have you ever eaten out of a trashcan, Souma? Have you ever slept somewhere on the street under the falling rain?"_ Lashing Hokuto from left to right in a wide arc, Tsubasa struck Raien with every ounce of strength he possessed. To his satisfaction, the Lightning Blade left Souma's hand and went flying out of sight. "Have you ever knelt down in front of someone to beg for your life when you hate him so much you want to kill him?" Still, Tsubasa's fury refused to recede. With his free hand, he drove his fist against Souma's stomach with as much force as his physical prowess allowed. The boy fell to the ground in a loud and painful cry, his mouth gushing out sprays of blood.

Tsubasa thought that his little brother would give in after he had demonstrated how far his powers were above the boy's. Tsubasa thought that once he had disabused the boy's hope that he could be defeated, Souma would surrender and accept Tsubasa's invitation to come back to the Dark God's ranks. Tsubasa was wrong. However badly beaten he was, Souma still tried to stand up and look for Raien even when Tsubasa was not sure the boy could even pick it up. Seeing his little brother so was just like pouring oil into the already raging fire.

_"You have been babied long enough."_ Tsubasa kicked Souma and stamped harshly on his back over and over. _"Because of my weakness, you become ignorant of how reality works!_

_"I was happy that both of us are servants to the Lord Orochi, I was happy that we could be family again but you disappointed me,"_ Tsubasa said, trying to calm himself down. _"To tell you the truth, Souma, I wanted you to lead a peaceful life where you can live under the sunshine without worrying where tomorrow may lead. That was why I left you to the High Priests care in the first place. But then when humanity failed me, I realized that I have made a terrible mistake. This is a corrupted world, one that was defiled beyond imagination. And I, as well as my comrades the Followers, am the only cure it has. I will not allow you to be lead astray any longer, Souma. By hook or by crook, I shall make you kneel and swear allegiance to the Lord!"_

Tsubasa grabbed Souma's throat with his left hand and pulled his little brother so that Souma's feet dangling a few inches off the ground. Then Tsubasa unleashed his Orochi powers into the boy. Eyes trying to bulge out of his sockets, Souma began to scream at the top of his lungs while his arms and legs flailed in a most violent manner.

"You have not opened yourself to Raien's soul far enough, Souma. Do you really think you can defeat me in such a pathetic state? Please, do not make me laugh." Under Tsubasa's will, Souma's right hand rose up. Out of the five trembling fingers, purple lightning jagged outward and materialized into Raien the Lightning Blade, the one sword beside Hokuto that possessed the powerful Voice of Sorrow. "As your elder brother, Souma, allow me to help."

"What... are you going... to do, Tsubasa-nii-san...?" Souma managed between full-throated cries.

"I cannot believe my little brother is such a simpleton." Tsubasa sighed. "Of course I am going to remove every restraint you have put on your Sealed Sword. Then Raien's darkness will flow into your soul and make you see the only path to this world's salvation."

_"No!" _The boy's scream was part fear and part agonized.

"Oh yes!" Laughing in satisfaction, Tsubasa reached deep into Souma's soul and shattered all the barricades that the kid had put up to prevent Raien's inevitable invasion. Now that they were gone, there was nothing that could stop the hatred that the Lightning Blade harbored, the anger of the Orochi's heart!

"Get away from Oogami-san," a cold voice of a girl said quietly at the same time a bar of liquid silver light streaked at Tsubasa from his right-hand side. Without taking his eyes off the thrashing Souma, Tsubasa calmly lifted Hokuto up to parry the attack. The bar of light, upon touching the crooked edge of the Star Blade, shattered into a million sparkling pieces. _The power of the Moon, _he thought.

Tsubasa turned his head and looked for the people who dared stick their nose into his business. To his right, at least ten feet away from him, stood two beautiful girls who were encompassed by glorious auras of silver and gold. They were, without a doubt, the Priestesses of the Sun and Moon. The Priestess of the Sun, whose golden aura was most brilliant under the starlit skies, was standing next to the other girl, the raised hand of whom was still glowing silver in the dark.

"Let go of him, please!" the golden-haired girl pleaded. Ever as she spoke, her aura began to pulse powerfully, filling the air between them with as much warmth and illumination as a thousand light bulbs could provide. Tsubasa could even smell his hand at Souma's throat burn in that aura. Gradually, the hatred with Raien fled from Souma's soul back into its hiding place within the sword. The girl's holy powers were interfering with his, Tsubasa realized. At this rate, it was no longer possible for Tsubasa to turn Souma to the dark side. Fury hissed in him like a viper whose territories had just been trespassed.

_"You!" _Tsubasa roared, tossing Souma on the ground like a sack of meat. _"How dare you meddle in my business? You shall pay!"_

Tsubasa directed Hokuto toward the intruders. Quickly, the Moon Priestess stationed herself in front of the other girl and formed a barrier made entirely from silver aura in front of her raised hand. _Foolish, _Tsubasa thought. There was no barrier strong enough to block an Elemental Blade, which she should have learned that from Nekoko already. Tsubasa found himself smiling a vicious smile. The Lord Orochi forbade the Followers to kill the two Kannazuki Priestesses but He did not mention anything about not hurting them, did he?

"Stop that, Tsubasa-nii-san!" Winds rushed at Tsubasa from behind. He leapt upward and suspended his body in the air just in time to evade Raien's deadly slash. "If you make one scratch on Himeko, I'll..." threatened his little brother, who had somehow managed to recover the Lightning Blade.

"You will do what, Souma? Kill me, perhaps?" Tsubasa laughed bitterly. "Ever since the beginning of this fight, you have never thrown any fatal blows at me and now you threatened me because of some girl? Do you even see me as your family, Souma? Well, do you?" he demanded.

"I do, nii-san. But whoever you are, I won't let you lay one finger on Himeko!" The boy looked at the Priestess of the Sun, smiling an awkward smile that was returned with a blank look and a flushed face. "You said you had no reason to protect this world, but I do. Because this is where the girl I love lives. For her, I will fight with my life to keep it safe!"

_"You ungrateful child, I saved you from that abyss just for this?" _Tsubasa snarled. _"There is no reason for you to live anymore, Souma. I will kill you myself!" _He levitated himself even higher up into the sky, from where the two girls and his little brother looked as a rock pebble.

_"Heavenly Seven – Rain of the Shining Flames!"_ Tsubasa raised Hokuto overhead and focused his full power into the Star Blade. The night clouds began to move inward in circles, drawing seven whirlpools of clouds that were arranged the shape of the great guiding stars, Hokuto_Shichisei_. From the center of each, white light flooded out as if there was a sun hidden within. Soon, seven destructive pillars of light would rain down upon the earth and destroy his little brother.

Down on the ground, something... inexplicable was happening. Raien, vibrating strongly in the hands of Tsubasa's brother, was shining as brightly as noonday. Not only that, the Lightning Blade was brimming with so much power it was now on the same level with Hokuto, strongest of the Elemental Blades. Incredulity seized him and rendered him speechless. How in the Lord's name did Souma gain complete control over his sword even though he had never accepted Raien's soul into his own? The explanation came to Tsubasa when his eyes found Himemiya Chikane and Kurusugawa Himeko, both of whom were still enveloped in their sacred light. _The Light of the Priestess earlier!_ he thought.

Souma gave a violent start as the purple sun in his hand suddenly exploded. Blinding light overwhelmed the world. In spite of himself, Tsubasa had to cover his eyes with his hands. However, even when he could not see a thing, he was able to sense a great power being born, one that surpassed what Tsubasa possessed.

Several seconds later, the light faded away... and Tsubasa's returning vision gave birth to gut0wrenching terror. Around him now slithered a gigantic dragon in its monstrous serpentine form, which appeared to be made purely out of lightning. The creature had four limbs and two wings with lightning bolts for feathers, which seemed to stretch to the furthest corners of the earth. Its head, large as any truck Tsubasa had ever seen was not that far away from him at all. The dragon was opening its toothy mouth, within which a huge sphere of light was being generated. The Lord Orochi once revealed to Tsubasa that the highest level of power a Follower could obtain from the Sealed Swords was to summon their True Forms. So this was what the Dark God meant. If Tsubasa recalled correctly, the name of this creature... was _Raien_ _no Ryuu_. The Lightning Dragon itself.

_"Tsubasa-nii-san! Leave or else!"_ Souma bellowed. The look of confidence on the boy's ace told Tsubasa that his little brother had realized he could control the True Form of his Sword.

Tsubasa said nothing has he pointed his Hokuto once more at the Priestesses. He had no intention of leaving here with tail behind his legs. In his hand, The Star Blade glowed, ready to unleash '_Rain of the Shining Flames_ upon the two girls who had spoiled his planned.

_"Fire!"_ Souma shouted, and the Lightning Dragon roared. The huge sphere in its mouth became a pillar of liquid light that rushed straight toward Tsubasa. He simply stared at his impending doom, thinking to himself how it had come to this. However, moments before the pillar could consume his body, a slender figure of a young girl appeared right in front of him. The girl, clad in a long black cape took his hand into hers and said quietly, "I believe this is the first time we meet, First Head. I am Saotome Makoto, the Eighth Head. Glad to make your acquaintance."

The blinding light engulfed them.

* * *

With all of his strength consumed by the dragon that Raien had morphed into, Oogami Souma collapsed onto the ground and started to gasp for breaths. In one last flash of purple light and a thunderous roar over his head, the dragon reverted into the shape of the Lightning Blade, which then melted into the light of the dawning sun. Souma allowed himself a quiet smile. He had come here, knowing that he was fighting at best a losing battle. He had thought that a very slim chance was all he had against his blood brother, the wielder of the Star Blade. But who could have guessed Raien, claimed to be weaker than Hokuto itself, would provide him with the means to conclude the fight in _his_ favor? Souma sighed. He only hoped Tsubasa-nii-san was okay. Although he had ordered Raien's monstrous manifestation to attack the older man, he had secretly held back most of its power. The best the dragon could have done to Souma's brother would be burning the man in a few places and that was it. 

As his eyes were drawing shut, Souma could still hear Himeko's voice calling out to him frantically. He allowed himself another smile. _Even though I had to fight my own brother, it did not matter much. As long as I can keep you safe and sound, Himeko, there's no price I'm not going to pay, _was the last thought he had before the peaceful darkness swallowed his consciousness whole.

* * *

Holding her childhood friend in her arms, Kurusugawa Himeko only shed her tears in silence. She didn't know that the boy loved her so much. She didn't know that he was willing to give up everything for her. But... but... _What should I do?_

"I'm so sorry, Sou-chan," Himeko cried.

* * *

Himemiya Chikane decided to turn away from her sweetheart Himeko, who was cradling her knight in shining armor in her arms and weeping softly. She could not bear to watch this any longer. Her heart... it hurt so much... Her hands clenched into fists. At least the most important question she had, had been answered. _So I do have to let you go in the end, Himeko, _she thought._ But if you are happy, I am fine with it._ Far beyond the horizon, the sun was rearing its head, heralding the arrival of a brand new day. Yet, all Chikane could see was the harbinger of a bleak future where all she would be able to do was watch her beloved spend time beside someone else while Chikane herself faded unnoticed into the pitiless desert of time. 


	7. The one I love

_**EPISODE SIX: THE ONE I LOVE.**_

* * *

Kurusugawa Himeko couldn't sleep. It had been hours since she first laid her back upon the soft mattress. Yet, all she managed to do was toss and turn and watch the hands of the grandfather clock standing across her bed go round. She sighed. It was four in the morning already, and school was but a few hours away. Should this continue, there was no doubt she would be nodding off during classes. Worse, today she would be having World History and Classic Literature, the two subjects that had never failed to induce sleepiness despite her efforts to stay awake. Her heart throbbed. Despite the fact that those classes were mind-numbingly boring, she had never landed herself into trouble even once. Whenever Himeko dozed off on her desk, Mako-chan would wake her before the teacher found out. Whenever Himeko was called upon to read some paragraphs in the text, which she had no idea where, Mako-chan would whisper the page number and kept Himeko's hide preserved. 

_Mako-chan, where are you? _Himeko thought. She had asked Chikane-chan to take her to the hospital once so that she could try to mend her friendship with the track-and-field athlete. To her disappointment, the nurse at the reception desk, who glanced at her and the blue-haired princess in a very funny way, announced that the patient named Saotome Makoto didn't want any visitors. There was nothing Himeko could do except leaving the hospital with a heart that was drowned in grief. She had cried her eyes out on Chikane-chan's shoulder during the trip home.

Sighing again, Himeko rose from the bed and walked out of her room. In her pajama, she quietly treaded upon the spacious and empty hallways, climbed down the flight of marble stairs leading toward the deserted Main Hall, opened a glass door at a corner, and finally arrived at the back garden of the Himemiya Mansion. Shaped in one great square spanning half a square mile in area, the garden was a vast verdant field where flowers, arranged in an eye-pleasing way atop the lush lawn that shone with the color of emeralds under the sun light, thrived and spread their pleasant fragrance across the land. Even right now, in the darkness before dawn that was only diluted by the light of the lamp posts, the garden seemed just as beautiful. Actually, Himeko thought it was even more so with the nocturnal atmosphere it gave out, with the sense of serenity that permeated the air, and with Chikane-chan, Himeko's sweetheart, who was sitting on a bench near a gushing fountain, beneath the light of a lamp post.

"Why are you not in bed, Himeko?" the blue-haired princess smiled tenderly at Himeko upon her approach. Chikane-chan was wearing her usual night gown under a long-sleeved coat that draped across her slender shoulders, appearing as beautiful and coolly elegant as ever.

"I can't sleep," Himeko admitted truthfully. "How about you, Chikane-chan? Why are you still awake?" She sat down next to her beloved on the bench, at which point she started to wonder how it would feel to link arms with the blue-haired princess and rest her head on the girl's slender shoulder.

The other girl studied her with an expressionless face for a long moment before she spoke quietly, "I could not sleep either, so I came here to have some fresh air, hoping it would drive my restlessness away." The princess's beautiful sapphire eyes, once locked with Himeko's amethyst, now looked away and focused on the sprays of water rising from the fountainhead, a French horn held by the stone statue of a little angel. Although Himeko wanted to ask what had caused Chikane-chan's restlessness, she forbore. There was a note in the other girl's voice that made it clear that even if Himeko had inquired, she would not have received a straightforward answer. She but wondered why.

"Did it help, then, Chikane-chan?" Himeko asked, deciding to leave the topic alone.

"A little bit," the princess confided with a sweet smile. "I think that I will be able to sleep_ if_ I go back to bed now." She glanced at the watch on her left wrist. "I do not think I will, though."

"Why not?" Himeko asked.

"Because I would have to wake up half an hour later, Himeko," Chikane-chan said in a depressed voice. "I have a studying session scheduled with the MBA people from five to seven, you see." The princess winced slightly as if the thought of having to attend the session was a needle that just pricked her skin. She shivered, too.

Himeko gave a start. "They are going to tutor you this morning, too?"

"Not just this morning, _every_ morning thereafter," the princess corrected her with a rueful smile. "You know that I always wake up at five for archery practice, do you not?" Chikane-chan waited for a nod from Himeko before she continued, "My father decided that my _hobby_ was not as important as studying business, so he allocated the time slot from five to seven for my tutoring session regardless of my wish." She heaved a long sigh that spoke volumes of the desperation and frustration she had to be feeling inside. Himeko's heart went out to her. Maybe this was why her beloved princess couldn't sleep.

"You don't even _like_ the subject, Chikane-chan, I can tell," she commented quietly, her hand on the princess's shoulder. "Why do you have to work yourself so... murderously?"

"Because my Father failed to understand his daughter the way you understand me, my dearest friend." The blue-haired girl let out a long sigh as she took Himeko's hand into her own and squeezed it tenderly. "He simply assumed that since I was good at it, there was no reason I could not come to love it. Sometimes I wonder which one is closer to me, you, or my father." Her expression, once sad, grew softer, and much more affectionate when her sapphire eyes settled upon Himeko's face. Her heart skipped a beat. The princess looked so beautiful when she said that...

"Why don't you tell him what you just told me?" Himeko said, trying to slow down her racing pulse.

"I did try, Himeko," the Himemiya Ojou-sama answered wryly. "His Mightiness Himemiya Kyou simply refused to accept _No_ for an answer, you see." She gave her lips a thoughtful tap. "It was rather unusual, anyhow, for my parents had never forced me to do what I did not want to before." She gave Himeko a soft smile. "I guess they are not letting me have my way any longer."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Chikane-chan," Himeko said to her secret crush.

"Do not be." The blue-haired princess chuckled softly behind a raised hand. "I would say that it was the duty given to me the moment of my birth, Himeko. It was my _fate_ to become the next successor to the throne of the empire my family had built and maintained. I cannot escape it." Her voice suddenly turned sorrowful. "Just as I cannot escape the fact that I was born a _girl_, and thus would never be able to..." Her eyes were on Himeko once more the moment she blinked and closed her mouth with an audible click of her teeth, her beautiful face as blank as a sheet of paper. The princess appeared someone who just realized that she had said too much... Himeko only wondered what the girl could have meant.

Chikane-chan cleared her throat. "Let us drop this depressing topic, Himeko. Why don't I show you something fun?" she said in such a cheerful voice and with a bright expression on her face that she almost seemed a different person. The melancholy that had been ailing her since Himeko set foot on the garden might as well never have existed.

"What is it?" Himeko asked, feeling her mind reeling with questions that she did not dare ask.

"A little trick I just discovered that I could do, Himeko," answered the Himemiya princess, her lips curving upward in a little mysterious smile as her hand rose over her head. Silver light, glaring and cool, erupted from the ground beneath the blue-haired girl's feet and then gathered into a revolving Moon Crest that kept expanding within every passing second. In a few heartbeats, the glowing sign had enveloped the entire garden of the Himemiya. With the ground alight, the night seemed almost insignificant. Yet, as Himeko's amethyst gaze rose to meet Chikane-chan's sapphire, she realized that no light, no matter how brilliant, could ever outshine her princess.

A miracle happened.

Water from the pond and the fountainhead, along with the dew on the blades of grass and the leaves of the trees in the garden, rose upward in droplets that twinkled like real stars beneath the heavily clouded heavens. Himeko could only marvel in wonder as the rising rain all around her concentrated into a growing sphere stationed in the air, an inch above the blue-haired girl's palm, which was facing skyward. When the sphere became large enough to easily swallow up a hundred people, the princess let her fingertips brush gently against its surface, her smile unwavering on her lips. After a flash of silver light, the sphere shot upward so quickly Himeko's eyes could barely follow the thing's trajectory path. Still, she was able to notice it when the water sphere stopped abruptly in midair, probably a few hundred feet above the ground. There, it exploded.

It was like watching firework, Himeko said to herself. Except that no firework could be as spectacular as what Chikane-chan had hurled into the sky, for in the exact instant following the explosion, a stunning vision rippled across the ocean of dark clouds that had swallowed the moon and stars. During that very instant, which seemed to last an eternity in her mind, Himeko caught a glimpse of something that could rarely be seen above the skyscrapers of Mahoroba, that which were exiled by the glaring city lights. It was the sight of the grand Milky Way, surrounded by a sparkling star ocean the beauty of which was seldom matched. Himeko's breath caught. Having only seen this in TV, she had thought that unless she gathered enough money to travel to some vast empty land where the human population was scarce, she would never see it in real life. She had never imagined it could be so beautiful. Her eyes once again found her princess, who was studying her with a joyous expression on her face. Himeko had never imagined Chikane-chan could do something so wondrous.

"Where did you learn to do this?" Himeko breathed.

Not answering the question immediately, the blue-haired princess turned her gaze upward at the clouded skies, from where, as Himeko just noticed, countless droplets of sparkling water were thundering toward the ground. Fingertips alight, the hand of Himeko's sweetheart elegantly drew a circle that blazed silver atop her magnificent head. The shining rain, each droplet of which was falling down in a straight line, suddenly changed direction and poured gently into the pond.

Afterwards, the princess gave Himeko an apologetic smile and said, "I do not have a clue, Himeko. Ever since I brought you home from the amusement park two days ago, strange knowledge has been coming into my head from only the Gods know where." She looked at her fingertips, glowing brilliant silver under the light of the lamp posts. "I guess that means my powers are returning." Her gaze became distant, her expression once again blank. At times like this, Himeko could never tell what the Priestess of the Moon was thinking... and it bothered her a lot.

Giving her head a firm shake to clear her thoughts, Himeko sighed. "At east _yours_ are. _Mine_ aren't. I wish I could do something like that, too." She had asked herself numerous times why she could not wield even the smallest bit of her powers, which Oogami-sensei claimed to be more than enough to overwhelm perhaps _all living Orochi at once_. It wasn't that she doubted the High Priest... but it was very hard to imagine that she, a girl who could barely keep herself from getting hurt, could defeat one Follower, much less all eight.

"Do you think that these powers are truly desirable, Himeko?" the princess asked, her sapphire eyes on Himeko's face, her voice strangely quiet.

"You don't think so." A shake of the other girl's magnificent head confirmed Himeko's observation. "Why?"

"Do you not think that our lives would be much better without our Priestess powers?" said the blue-haired princess. "We would be able to remain normal girls who were not burdened by the mission of saving the world. We would not have to lead a life where we spend every moment awake being afraid that the Orochi could come after us." Chikane-chan's glowing hand curled into a fist. "Besides, what use do I have of this? Why should I even _want_ it when it cannot make my one and only wish come true?" Despair was all that flowed in the princess's words. She made Himeko's heart clench.

"What is it you wish for, Chikane-chan?" Himeko asked. What could have upset her sweetheart so?

The other girl didn't answer. Instead, she eyed Himeko up and down as if for the first time she had noticed that Himeko was there. Then the Himemiya Ojou-sama sat a bit closer, took off her outer coat, and draped it across Himeko's shoulders. "You did not dress warm enough for this kind of weather, Himeko. Do try to take care of yourself. I will not be around forever, you know," she murmured softly as she helped Himeko button up the coat. Their bodies were so close together that Himeko could feel the warmth emanating from the princess's skin and hear the girl's heartbeat. When Himeko looked up and found the blue-haired girl's stunning face, which was but two inches apart from her own, she realized she could feel the girl's hot, fragrant breath caressing her cheeks. Her heart went wild.

"I can't imagine what the servants in your house would say if they saw us like this, Chikane-chan," Himeko mumbled, her face a roaring furnace. "There are enough rumors about us going around already."

"What rumors?" the princess gave her a quizzical look.

"They made all sorts of speculations as to why you brought a stranger like me into your house, Chikane-chan," Himeko said, her amethyst eyes locked with the princess's sapphire. She simply couldn't tear them away. "Some said I was your long-lost half-sister, born of your father and his secret mistress." The corners of Chikane-chan's lovely mouth quirked upward in amusement. "Some said I was some sort of witch who had confounded your mind." The blue-haired girl's smile faded, her visage hardened in anger. Himeko took a deep breath. "But the majority of them believed I was your secret lover." The expression on the face of the Himemiya Ojou-sama turned unreadable. Right at this moment, she betrayed as much emotion as a rock.

"Is that so?" was the only response Himeko got. The other girl's voice was guarded and perfectly neutral. Himeko winced. If Chikane-chan kept being so cautious and tight-mouthed about this, how the heck could Himeko learn how much she was worth in her beloved's heart?

"Speaking of which," Himeko decided to try again, "What kind of person do you want for a lover, Chikane-chan? I really want to know."

Silence hung between them like a thick wall for a few minutes before the other girl decided to speak, "Rather than worrying about my love life, should you not pay attention to yours, Himeko?" A smile curved the princess's lips. "You have stayed in your room for a whole day yesterday. Should you not try to stay with your boyfriend all the time? He may try to cheat on you in your absence, you know. Boys cannot be trusted."

"He's not my boyfriend!" Himeko protested, her cheeks aflame._ I don't need a boyfriend. I only need _you_, Chikane-chan, _she thought exasperatedly.

"Perhaps not yet." The Himemiya Ojou-sama chuckled quietly. "When are you going to give your childhood friend his overdue answer? He just pleaded his undying love for you two days ago, you know."

"I... I'm supposed to meet with him during lunch break in school, today," Himeko muttered in a depressed tone while her heart sank into her stomach. This decision was what had kept her awake all night. She knew that it was only right for her to reject her childhood friend, as she only wished to be with her one and only princess, as she didn't think she could be anyone else's girlfriend, and as Chikane-chan was the only person that was in Himeko's mind, dreaming or awake. Yet... Himeko couldn't help but be saddened... for she knew she was going to hurt someone she cherished, someone who would fight his own blood brother for her sake. The guilt had been devouring Himeko inside out ever since she returned home less than twenty-four hours ago.

"He will be delighted, I am sure." Chikane-chan gave Himeko another dazzling smile before she glanced at her wristwatch. "Almost five already, look how fast time flies," she commented. "I had better take a bath and change into proper clothing for the study session. You should go back to your room and have some rest, Himeko."

Sighing inwardly, Himeko nodded. "I will see you later then."

A "See you," was all the princess said before she turned and left.

Standing alone under the clouded heavens, swathed by the light of the lamp posts, Himeko could only groaned. It was then that she started to wish she could read minds. Maybe that was the only way by which she could find out whether Chikane-chan was in love with her or not.

* * *

As she treaded in deafening silence upon the hallway that led straight toward the bath chamber, Himemiya Chikane's mind was being ravaged by powerful currents of thoughts, all of which concerned her housemate, schoolmate, and her comrade the Priestess of the Sun. _Kurusugawa Himeko_. 

_What kind of person I would want, Himeko? _she thought bitterly_. Someone who can talk to me and make me smile even when I am angry. Someone who knows me well enough to tell what I am thinking. Someone who would hold me gently and comfort me when I am depressed. Someone I am comfortable with, who can lift my spirit and fill my heart with joy just by being near me. _Bitterness gave birth to grief and despair._ You are the only one I ever love. Yet, no matter what I do, you can never be mine._

Chikane's hand rose to clutch at her chest. Her heart... it ached so terribly she only wanted to rip it out to lessen the pain. It was only then did Chikane realize that something very wrong was happening to her. Her back was feeling so hot it could have been on fire, her legs so weak she had to stop and put a hand against the wall to steady her body, and her powers were rising in her like the strongest tides, completely out of her control. Her throat ran dry, her blood grew cold, and her vision turned dark. Chikane wanted to scream for help, but a lump of something stuck in her throat had smothered any sound she could make.

_"Ao-chan..."_ a soft and melodious voice, which Chikane knew all too well, sang in her head. _"Come to me. Ao-chan_..._"_

The darkness in front of her eyes gave way to a great flame of liquid golden light that burnt as brilliantly as the summer sun. In the heart of that very light stood a girl roughly of Chikane's age, whose slender frame was clothed in the white chihaya and red hibakama of the Sun Priestess's outfit, whose golden hair was tied into a long but tidy tail at the nape of her neck, whose beautiful face was lit up by her dazzling smile. The girl, whose appearance resembled that of her sweetheart Kurusugawa Himeko, was someone Chikane knew. Her name was... Her name was...

Letting go of herself, Chikane felt her body plowing forward along with her outreached hand, into the heart of the light, toward the heart of her world. _"Akaa-chan," _was the only word that she muttered before the darkness consumed her whole.

* * *

Standing in the spacious hallway of the Himemiya Mansion, Yue the Goddess of the Moon could only shed her tears in silence as she held the limp body of Himemiya Chikane in her arms. Had she not teleported herself inside as soon as she saw the girl lose her balance, Chikane could have broken her own neck. Yue pulled the Priestess of the Moon even closer and wept. 

"My little daughter, you have suffered so," Yue sobbed quietly as her hand combed through the princess's stream of glossy hair. "You have been hurting so... yet... yet I can do nothing to ease your grief. I do not deserve to be your mother. I am so sorry, my child." Tears rolled down her cheeks and flowed into her mouth. They tasted bitter, but nowhere as much as what Yue felt in her heart. However, stronger than anything, hotter than the surface of the sun, anger rose in her and threatened to burn her to dust.

Even in her current state, where her powers were weakened by a maelstrom of emotions, Yue could still feel the pulse of a vicious existence lurking in Chikane's heart. It was the _mechanism_ the Immortals of Heaven had implanted within the girl three thousand years ago, in the aftermath of the great battle between Ame no Murakumo and Yamata no Orochi. A wave of disgust seized Yue. Although that _vicious thing _had been suppressed and placed within a stasis field of powers the very moment Yue invoked her divine call to awaken the two Priestesses, _it_ was now trying to come back to life. It was inevitable that _it_ was going to break free from the chains Chikane had unconsciously created. It was but a matter of time until the cogs of Fate turned once more and crushed the children in its path.

Little Chikane had done almost an impossible job by resisting the mechanism for so long... yet it was a losing battle in the first place, for there was a limit to what the child could accomplish. True, Chikane's potential, that of mankind's strongest, was as vast as any ocean... but the struggle against oneself was ever easier said than done. Her powers, transcendental as they were, had but been _dried up_ just from sealing the mechanism away. That was why at the time of awakening, she was powerless despite the fact that had she been able to unleash all she was capable of, all eight Orochi Followers would have perished under her hand.

A presence of power entered Yue's mind and made her look up. The Priestess of the Sun, little Kurusugawa Himeko, was traveling in Yue's direction. In but a few minutes, the child would arrive at this exact spot. Yue sighed. She could not afford to be found out. Once she had laid the blue-haired princess in her arms onto the carpeted floor, Yue backed up a few steps and wove a Dimensional Portal to take her out of this place. Before the silvery surface winked out of existence, she was allowed another quick glance at her the unconscious Priestess. Her eyes stung once more. She had been crying a great deal these days. She knew what would come to pass, she knew her beloved children were about to be devastated again yet... What meaning was there in her being a Goddess when she could not even protect the feelings little Himeko and Chikane had for each other? What was the use of living an immortal life when she had to see the tragedy repeat over and over? Tears trickled down her face uncontrollably. Yue... Yue did not want to give up on the two of them the way she had surrendered her one true love.

* * *

"You should prepare to go to school, Himeko," Himemiya Chikane told her sweetheart. "It is almost time already. You do not wish to be late for class, do you?" She glanced at the grandfather clock standing across from the bed, which read eight thirty in the morning. The first class at Ototachibana Academy started at nine, so unless the little angel hurried, she was going to be either locked out of the entrance or penalized academically when she got to the classroom late. Should worse come to worst, the golden-haired girl might just have to stand in the hallway until the teacher let her in. Chikane did not wish to see that. 

"I'll stay home with you, Chikane-chan," said the owner of the prettiest pair of amethyst eyes in the world. That determined expression on her face, however, was very much at odds with her red and swollen eyes, her uneven and tearful voice, her sweaty and trembling hands around Chikane's left. Still in her flimsy pajama and the coat Chikane had put on her earlier, the little angel appeared shaken to the core.

"No need. You have done enough already." Chikane gave the golden-haired girl a grateful smile and an affectionate squeeze of her hand. The Priestess of the Sun actually had done more than enough. According to the servants, she was the one who had found Chikane lying unconscious in the hallway, who had brought Chikane back to this very room and called for help. When Chikane first regained consciousness, the first person she had seen was Himeko, sitting on a chair by the bed. The golden-haired girl's cheeks were soaked with tears, her visage contorted by fear and agony, her hands wrapping very tightly around Chikane's very own. Nothing in this whole wide world had ever moved Chikane as deeply as the little angel did. "I am truly thankful that you have stayed by my side ever since I woke, Himeko."

Without the golden-haired girl, perhaps Chikane could never have remained so calm when she opened her eyes and realized that she could lift a finger. Her limbs were entirely without strength, her back burning hot while every other spot on her skin was as cold as ice, and her every single particle ringing out in the pain that was nettling her heart. Had the welling panic in her not been suppressed by the sight of a worried Himeko, Chikane could not imagine how she would have reacted.

"Don't say that, Chikane-chan," said Himeko. "You've been protecting me ever since we became friends. It's only expected that I must take care of you when I'm needed." The girl pressed the palm of Chikane's hand against her tear-stained cheek. "Besides, how can I go to class and listen to the lectures when I'm so worried about you?" Chikane's heart started to pound.

"Oogami-san is not going to be pleased," she commented.

"What does this have anything to do with him?" Himeko gave her a startled look.

"Silly Himeko, clueless Himeko." Chikane chuckled quietly. "Are you not aware that it cannot sit well with a boy to have his girlfriend worry so much about someone else? Boys get jealous fairly easily, do you not know?"

"Who cares whether he's jealous or not?" the little angel declared, her cheeks coloring faintly. "I'm not his girlfriend." She was going to say something else, too, and would have, had she not heard a soft knock on the door to Chikane's room. The golden-haired girl, whose face was suddenly covered by an air of gloominess, immediately fell quiet.

"Ojou-sama, Katou-sensei has arrived," the voice of the Head Maid Kisaragi Otoha announced.

"Please bring her here, Otoha-san," Chikane-said. She did not think that the Himemiya family doctor could diagnose Chikane's strange symptoms... but she could never be too careful now could she?

"As you wish, Ojou-sama." Footsteps faded down the hallway.

"You should go back to your room and change into your uniform, Himeko." Chikane smiled at the girl she loved. "I will ask my chauffer to take you to school." A shadow of exasperation crossed the little angel's lovely face.

"I said I'm going to stay home with you, Chikane-chan!" Himeko said stubbornly.

"To what end?" Chikane sighed. "That Katou-sensei, there is nothing she loved more than drugging me with tranquilizer even when I am certain none is needed. I suspect that she will do the same thing again today. So you see, Himeko, there is no point in you staying here for hours on end while watching me sleep. You will be bored out of your mind."

Somehow, the moment Chikane saw the little angel opened her mouth, she already knew that _"But you have done the same thing for me every time, didn't you?" _was what the girl was going to say. Chikane decided to forestall her sweetheart.

"Besides, do you not have to see Oogami-san today?" Chikane reminded Himeko, who went deathly still as soon as she heard the name of her prince on the white horse.

"Okay then," the golden-haired girl spoke in the end with a very reluctant voice. "But I'm not going back to class after lunch break, Chikane-chan. I'm coming home to see you." The angel's pretty face firmed with determination, which told Chikane that nothing she said was going to make her sweetheart change her mind. She could only sigh inwardly at the girl's stubbornness. Oh well, there was nothing else she could do.

"I will see you then, Himeko." Chikane nodded.

"Have a nice rest, Chikane-chan," the little angel said before she tucked Chikane's hand under the blanket, rose from her chair, and walked toward the door, appearing almost dejected.

"I would have wished you good luck with your confession, Himeko," Chikane laughed softly, "had I not known before hand that Oogami-san was head over heels in love with you."

The little angel, upon hearing the joke, stopped dead in her track at the door, her back facing toward the bed. "You dummy, Chikane-chan," was the brief response she gave before her slender figure vanished behind the closed door. Chikane could only speculate as to why the little angel never turned around to face Chikane... and why the golden-haired girl sounded so quiet, so painful, and so depressed.

* * *

Saotome Makoto had rarely been impressed in her entire life, but right now, she could only marvel at the amazingly beautiful scenery her eyes were showing her. Under the light of the golden sun reigning amid a cloudless sky, the castles of Heaven, built in Feudal Japan's fashion, loomed over her majestically while the tiles on their roofs, seemingly made out of colorful glass, gleamed like a collection of jewels. Even the regular houses in this place, despite being so much smaller in size, brimmed with an unmistakable artistic sense and elegance. Lines of trees, tall and old, ran along either side of any road, casting their cool shade upon a perfectly and evenly paved ground. In no where could Makoto detect the rowdiness and disorder usually associated with a city of this size. In no where could she found even the smallest scrap of garbage that normally littered the alleys and small streets in Mahoroba. This place, in other words, were unnaturally and eerily clean. Even the air she breathed in exhilarated her no end._ The Immortals sure know how build and manage a city, _she thought. She wondered if there was a city on Earth that remotely resembled this one. If there were, nothing could have delighted her more than spending the remaining of her days there with the one she loved. 

_Himeko. _The name of Makoto's former roommate floated across her mind. She wondered what the girl was doing right now...In spite of herself, she gave a rueful chuckle. She came to Heaven to accomplish the mission that the Dark God had given her, so she really didn't have time to moon over the one she loved. After she had given her head a firm shake to clear unwanted thoughts, Makoto fixed her gaze upon the sole building that stood upon this vast, empty square. The Memories Hall of Heaven, the place where the Gods and Goddesses archived and backed up the memory of every being in the Three Worlds, the only building that was protected by a myriad of magical Barriers.

Makoto let out a quiet, but contemptuous laughter. The Immortals had paid a great deal of efforts trying to conceal the traps they had woven around the Hall, but to Makoto, to whom the power of Tasogare the Twilight Blade was bestowed, what they did was useless. Her eyes, once as blind as those of a mortal, were now capable of visually detecting any Seal or Barrier regardless of how well they had been hidden beforehand. Not just that, she could even destroy them all should she choose to do so. After all, if she had succeeded in breaking through the Dimensional Boundary protecting Izumo itself, there was little else she could _not_ do.

_"Lord of the Shadows, come forth, Tasogare!"_ At her call, the Sealed Sword, the blade of which was as black as the night, leapt from her shadow and into her hand. It was time to do what she came here for.

Makoto walked straight toward the Memories Hall. The Barriers twisted and turned upon her entrance, retreating from her steps as if nobles making way for their queen. Soon enough, the power of the Twilight Blade encompassed them completely, bending them to her will so that no alarms would be sounded as long as Makoto wished. Smiling in sheer satisfaction, she turned into a shadow and slipped past the crack between the closed doors. Having made certain that there was no presence of power inside, Makoto knew for sure that nothing was going to stop her from getting what the Orochi Lord required.

Makoto blinked in shock.

From the outside, the Memories Hall looked just like any other building she had seen in Mahoroba, yet within its walls lay a vast ocean the water of which sparkled platinum under a cloudless, sunless, cerulean sky. Upon that shining and rippling surface floated an island, a large platform that was made entirely out of marble polished so well it shone like a gigantic mirror, on which Makoto stood. At the center of the island, next to Makoto, was a block of transparent crystal about four feet high, two feet wide, and two feet thick. This block, according to Yamata no Orochi, was called the One Terminal, the device through which all functions of the Hall of Memories could be accessed. It was exactly what Makoto needed.

She placed her palm atop the One Terminal and channeled her powers into the thing. Slowly, her hand sank into the crystal block. The device started to glow. Somewhere to Makoto's right, a globe of the mysterious substance that made of the entire Sea of Memories rose into the air and floated toward her.

_There you are, _Makoto thought.

* * *

From the top of the building, Kagutsuchi the God of Fire chuckled while he watched the girl in the black cape exit the Memories Hall, completely unaware that she was being spied upon. Strong as she was for an Orochi Head, she lacked experience. Still, Kagutsuchi had to commend her on having succeeded in breaching the Dimensional Boundary separating Izumo and the Earth. It was, after all, a feat no mortal had ever managed without facing eventual and gruesome demise. Had Kagutsuchi not seen her by pure chance, he would never have known that such a cute and elegant girl had entered the Holy City. She was exactly the type he would go for. He sighed. Too bad the Goddesses in Izumo were too _tamed_ for his taste. Otherwise, he would have a girlfriend, or even a wife, long since. But anyhow, the Orochi girl should be thankful that Kagutsuchi was interested in what her business was. Had it not been for that, he would have destroyed her. 

The girl raised her hand, in which materialized a sword the blade of which so black it seemed to be sucking in Izumo's sunlight. Then space itself _rippled_ in front of her to form a dimensional cleft in the shape of an oversized window. As soon as she entered, the portal thinned into a black line and vanished. Extremely well-done, quick, and clean, Kagutsuchi thought. The girl was truly in control of her own powers, and the Twilight Blade obeyed her every whim. Kagutsuchi doubted that any other Orochi Head in her place could have done half as well. He wondered what her name was.

_"Come inside the Hall, Kagutsuchi-san," _the voice of Susanou the God of Storms spoke suddenly inside Kagutsuchi's head and made him jump._ "We need to talk." _For the first time since he landed on top of the lone building standing dead center of the Ko no Hana Grand Square, he sensed the presence of his twin right beneath his feet. A chill ran down his spine.

"Since when did you get in your office, Susanou?" he demanded upon arriving at the marble platform that floated upon the peaceful surface of the Kiokkai. His brother, the handsome God of Storms was sitting on a high-backed chair in front of the One Terminal, both hands immersed within the shining crystal device.

"I was here half an hour ago," answered Susanou with a calm voice, his eyes glued at the holographic screen hanging above the One Terminal.

"Then why the heck didn't I sense your presence?" Kagutsuchi frowned.

"I was inside the Kannazuki Tower, deep beneath the surface of the Memories Sea, Kagutsuchi-san," the other man said nonchalantly. "No one could have noticed me there." Of course, the Tower of the Godless Monthwas protected by its engine, an immense power the existence of which was unknown to the majority of Izumo's residents. That power, evil and malicious, must have cloaked Susanou's presence from Kagutsuchi's senses.

"If you were here in the first place, why didn't you do anything to that intruder?" he demanded.

"Because I know exactly what she came here to take," came the monotonous reply. "Coincidentally, it was a package that needed to be delivered. In fact, she had saved me the trouble of sending it out myself."

"What's that?" Kagutsuchi asked his brother curiously.

"This," replied Susanou at the same time a second holographic screen appeared to the left of the first one. Kagutsuchi read it... and became dumbstruck. According to the onscreen text, which happened to be extracted from the activity log file of the archive, what the Orochi girl had taken from the Kiokkai was the memory belonging to Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne, the Seraphim Blade.

"What the hell?" he said in utmost incredulity. "That girl risked her life coming to Heaven just to steal something she _cannot_ use? Didn't she read the Kiokkai Rules before she tampered with the machine? And why Rin-chan's memory, of all people?" Only after the questions had leapt from Kagutsuchi's tongue did the explanations come to him like the breaking dawn. As a result, he fell silent afterwards, suddenly overwhelmed by a wave of relief that he hadn't lifted a hand against the girl in the black cape. Had he done so, he would have committed a terrible crime against someone he once cherished with all his heart.

"Because Rinne-kun wants the thing, obviously," answered the other man in his usual lecturing tone. Despite the fact that Kagutsuchi loved his brother, he had never been able to make himself come to terms with the man's condescending attitude. "_Yamata no Orochi_ must have ordered the Follower to come here and retrieve it. I doubt that the girl, or any other Head, knew their liege Lord was but a puppet in Rinne-kun's hand."

Kagutsuchi heaved a long sigh. Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne, the girl he used to address as Rin-chan in an intimate way, was once a straightforward and honest person. What she was now, instead, was a dangerous schemer and manipulator who moved the Dark God along with the Eight Followers in the shadow the way a skillful chess player would his pawns. Kagutsuchi shook his head in sheer exasperation. How did it all come to this?

"Oh well, what can I do?" He sighed one last time before he walked toward the Dimensional Portal that was the exit of the Memories Hall.

"Wait a minute, Kagutsuchi-san," Susanou called. When Kagutsuchi turned to look at his twin brother, the man had risen from the chair and was now standing and looking at Kagutsuchi with an agonized expression on his face. Kagutsuchi could only wonder why. "I paid a visit to Yui-nee-san earlier today, in the Tower of the Sun in the Heavenly Palace," the shorter man said.

"Did something happen to her?" he asked, feeling fear wrapping its claws around his heart. Susanou's voice was tight, which suggested that what the God of Storms was about to announce wasn't going to be pleasant.

"We were talking in her guest chamber when she suddenly had a seizure," replied Kagutsuchi's twin brother, his voice on the verge of being shattered to pieces. "There was nothing I could do to ease her suffering, and you were away from Heaven then, so I had no one to call for help. I was so afraid I was going to lose her the way she thrashed in pain so." Susanou's face, normally as cold and emotionless as a winter stone, was twisted by unspeakable grief and horror. The sight of the Goddess of the Sun being tortured physically and mentally must have completely unnerved him, Kagutsuchi knew. Had he been there himself, he would have reacted the same way. They both loved their gentle and cheerful onee-chan so...

Horrified, Kagutsuchi grabbed the other man's shoulders and shook them almost violently. "Is Yui-nee okay? Is she?! Tell me, Susanou!"

"She should be fine now. The seizure stopped after a few minutes." Susanou's hand rose to clutch at his forehead. "I brought her to bed and stayed there with her until she fell asleep."

"Why did you leave her side, Susanou?!" Kagutsuchi demanded in a strained but heated voice. "For Heaven's sake, she might just suffer from another seizure without anyone nearby! How thoughtless can you be?!"

"I had to come here!" his brother protested. "Where else could I contact the Underworld without the risk of being discovered, Kagutsuchi-san? I had to let the Lady know!"

"Then why didn't you return to the Tower of the Sun right after that?"

"How?" Susanou snapped angrily. "As soon as I was done sending a message to Reiha through the secure channel, the system warned me that the Orochi girl was breaking into the Memories Hall. I had to go into the Kannazuki Towers and waited there until she left. Had I not _promised_ Rinne-kun seventeen years ago that I would give her what she wanted, I would have _killed_ that kid the moment she entered and gone back to check up on Yui-nee-san."

Silence.

"I... I... see. I'm sorry, Susanou," Kagutsuchi murmured apologetically as he slowly removed his hands from his brother's shoulders in the end. The God of Storms gave a dismissive wave of his hand, which could either mean the acceptance of Kagutsuchi's apology or that there was nothing to forgive.

"Which person in the Underworld did you talk to, though?" he asked.

"Fortune favored me this time. I was able to speak to the Lady herself."

"What did she say?" Kagutsuchi asked, hope welling in him.

"The Lady will meet with Yui-nee-san in Onogoro tomorrow," Susanou replied with a small smile on his lips, tension draining from his handsome face. "She did not say it to me outright but I believe that she is going to take Yui-nee-san to Reiha for treatment whether she wants it to or not. The Lady is both worried and angry, you see, Kagutsuchi-san."

Kagutsuchi returned his twin brother's smile and said, "I guess Yui-nee isn't going to be able to talk herself out of it this time." His smile faltered, however, the moment he was reminded of how terrible the... disease that was plaguing his beloved onee-chan was. "Do you think the Lady can save Yui-nee, Susanou?" The face of the God of Storms grew mournful almost instantly.

"You know as well as I do that Yui-nee-san's sickness is beyond anyone's help save our Father's," Susanou said. "I only hope the Lady could find a way to lessen the pain Yui-nee-san has to suffer during the outbursts, Kagutsuchi-san."

Kagutsuchi's hands clenched into fists. "Why did this have to happen to her?" he asked no one in particular, feeling hopelessness rippling along every fiber of his existence. "She doesn't have long to live, and she may have to watch her dream coming with her to the grave, unfulfilled. Yet... yet why does she still have to suffer every single day? _She has already been tormented enough already, for crying out loud!"_ The last sentence came out as a thunderous roar. Susanou only sighed and simply let Kagutsuchi vented his anger. They had been through this before... many times...

"Anyways, forget it. I'm going to the Tower of the Sun to see her," Kagutsuchi said after a long sigh. "You going?"

"Yes." His twin brother nodded. "Give me a few more minutes. I am almost done removing all the traces that the Orochi girl left in the system." The man clicked his teeth in irritation. "I must not let anyone know that she was here."

"Hurry up, then. I'll wait for you outside."

As soon as Kagutsuchi found himself at the entrance to the Memories Hall, his head instinctively turned toward the Heavenly Palace, the immense structure standing at the heart of Izumo. He started to grit his teeth in anger. The Lord Izanagi, his Father, seemed to have a strange and inexplicable fondness for bullying his children. He imprisoned Akira for the last three thousand year, he chained the Goddess of the Moon in perpetual sorrow, and he watched in glee while Yui-nee's life became worse than death. _What kind of grudge do you bear against my siblings, Father? What crimes have they committed? Why must you hate them so?_

* * *

"You may leave, Otoha-san," Himemiya Chikane said, back leaning against the headboard of her bed, hands folded on her lap, her eyes gazing at the distance beyond her open window. "I shall call when I need assistance." She doubted that she ever would. Unlike earlier this morning, Chikane now had regained enough strength to move around and did virtually anything she wished. She suspected that her speedy recovery had more to do with her Priestess powers rather than with the medicine Katou-sensei had prescribed, however. 

"Yes, Ojou-sama," replied Otoha with a bow. Her attention being elsewhere, Chikane only noticed that the young woman had already departed when she heard the door opened and then closed quietly on the other side of the room. Her sapphire eyes fell upon the tray of food that Otoha had left behind, atop the table by Chikane's bed. Hunger was clawing at her stomach, since she had not eaten anything ever since last night, but the last thing she wanted to do right now was to touch the food. For some reason, she was certain that the moment her lips closed around the smallest bit would also be the moment she spat it out.

Silently, she returned her attention once more to the scenery outside of the window. It was indeed a beautiful day. The sun was shining amidst the deep azure heavens, the air cool, and the birds inhabiting the Himemiya Garden singing together in a melody that could have moved anybody else's heart. Anyone else. For Chikane, the scenery only drowned her deeper into the sea of hopelessness and despair. After all, all it managed to do was reminding her of the day Chikane first met her one and only love, Kurusugawa Himeko. Yes, it was a day just as beautiful as today...

_Back leaning against the strong plank of an ancient oak tree, sapphire eyes closed, Himemiya Chikane found herself relaxing in the peaceful serenity that enveloped her whole. This Garden of the Roses, fenced and carefully concealed, was a place the existence of which was known to none except her and her Father. It was her modest kingdom. It was her safe haven, where she was guarded against the rest of world. It was the little corner her father the Ototachibana Academy headmaster had built for her, at her request. He had laughed when Chikane told him she wanted a place where she would not be disturbed, but he granted her wish all the same. _

_Chikane settled down upon the smooth, grassy ground, quietly indulging herself in the cool shade that the ancient tree cast, silently taking in the faint fragrance of the roses on the fences. The Garden of the Roses was easily her favorite spot in the vast Ototachibana Academy, for only here could she find peace of mind. Out there, wherever she went, students stared at her in what seemed to be a blend of awe and desire. They knew she was the only daughter of the master of this school, the future heiress to Himemiya Empire, so they flocked to her like birds of prey, hoping to share the glory she possessed. She was disgusted by the fact that she had to face such people, sickened by the fact that she had to smile in front of them even when distaste soured her stomach. _

_Chikane sighed. She but wondered if there was one person in this large school who would love her for who she truly was, someone whose eyes were not clouded by the wealth her family possessed. If such a person existed, Chikane would be more than willing to abandon everything she ever owned should that be the price she had to pay. _

_"Wait, I say! Wait!" someone yelled in the distance. Heavy footsteps drew nearer and nearer. _

_The bush of leaves covering the entrance to the Garden of the Roses rustled violently before something warm and fuzzy emerged and leapt into Chikane's arms. It was a cute puppy of the Shiba Inu breed, which began to slaver on her cheeks as soon as she brought him closer to her face. It tickled so much that Chikane laughed out loud. _

_"What are you doing here, little one?" Chikane smiled at the dog. _

_The bush rustled again. _

_Curious, Chikane stood up and moved nearer to see. Then out of the bush came someone, who tripped on the ground and crashed into her. As a result, both of them lost balance and fell onto the ground. Stars erupted in her vision the moment her back slammed upon the ground. Once Chikane had recovered from the pain, she lifted her head, meaning to have a sharp word with whoever it was that dared trespassed into her sanctuary. Words died in her throat, however, when she looked at the person whose body was lying atop her own, the one who was staring unblinkingly at her face. _

_ It was a girl of Chikane's age, whose golden hair was tied into two long braids that hang on her slender shoulders. The color of her eyes was that of amethyst, which Chikane had not seen on anyone else during her entire life. These rare crystals were so bright, clear, and at the same time so deep Chikane could drown herself in them forever. Having a complexion that was snow-white, a little nose that looked just right, smooth cheeks that seemed to invite kisses, lips that were small and delicate as a cherry blossoms petal, and a body that was tender, fragile, and light, the golden-haired person who had just intruded into Chikane's hiding place had to be the most beautiful being in the world. _

_The silence stretched while Chikane began to grow more and more conscious of the other girls firm chest that was pressed against hers, of the heart that pounded as loudly as any drum, and of the soft fragrance that was slowly permeating the air Chikane breathed. Before she knew what she was doing, her left arm had already fastened around the girls slim waist, her right rising just so she could place a hand upon the left cheek of the stunning beauty. What Chikane did was a far cry from appropriate, that she knew better than anyone, but for some reason... letting go of the golden-haired girl was the last thing she ever wanted. Her hand, originally on the intruders soft cheek, then moved to the back of her head. Chikane's breath caught the moment she realized that she was trying to shrink the distance between their faces, their lips. Horrified, she took her hand away... at the exact same moment the other girls lovely mouth issued a disappointed sigh. _

_"You... are..." was what Chikane muttered before she fell silent at the other girls reddening cheeks. Coherent thoughts took flight. In Heavens name... the girl was even more adorable than ever when she blushed. _

_Another few minutes passed before Chikane decided to deal with the situation. Gently pushing away the soft and faintly fragrant body lying atop hers, Chikane helped the beautiful intruder stand up. For one split second there, she fell under the impression that the girl still wanted to hold onto Chikane the way she reluctantly untied her arms around Chikane's back. That did not help, really, because it only urged Chikane to hug her again. _

_"I... apologize for the... inconveniences, umm..." the golden-hared girl trailed off, face as red as it could ever be. _

_"My name is Himemiya Chikane," Chikane answered, feeling her mind being unraveled by the cutest voice she had ever heard. "Yours is...?" _

_"I'm Himeko, Kurusugawa Himeko," she said. "Um, did I hurt you somewhere?" _

_Chikane shook her head. Even if she was hurt, she was surely not going to say that to the golden-haired beauty that had just stumbled herself into her sanctuary. _

_"I am very sorry for bumping into you, Chikane-chan," the other girl murmured in her sweet, adorable voice, her cheeks aglow, her eyes downcast. _

_"Chikane... _chan_?" Chikane's eyes widened. _

_"I'm sorry, am I being too friendly?" The other girl gave a start, a shadow of uneasiness stealing across her face. _

_"No, it is fine," Chikane said, feeling her cheeks warming up rapidly at Himeko's brightening expression. No one aside from her parents had ever addressed her plainly by her first name. No one in this whole wide world had ever attached a childish _'-chan' _after her name and turned it into the cutest sound the way the shorter girl did. _

_"Ah_..._" She cleared her throat and peeled her eyes away from the golden-haired girls pretty face. "What are you doing here, Kurusugawa-san?" _

_"I was looking for... him. Oh I'm so sorry," Himeko exclaimed as she hurried toward the little puppy, who seemed to be enjoying the boxed lunch Chikane had brought to the Garden of the Roses. Amusement seized her. _

_"It is alright." Chikane chuckled softly. _

_"No, it's not alright!" the girl protested. "It's my fault that you lost your lunch. Let me make up for it, please?" _

_"Eh... that_..._" _

_"My cooking abilities aren't much to speak of but if you don't mind, Chikane-chan, Ill make lunch for you tomorrow. How about it?" _

_"I said you do not have to_..._" Chikane swallowed the rest of the sentence. Himeko had such a pleading look on her face that it made it all but impossible for Chikane to utter that one simple word. "Then I accept your generosity, Kurusugawa-san. I will be looking forward to it." _

_"Thank you, Chikane-chan." The most divine smile Chikane had ever seen bloomed on Himeko's lips. _

_It was only then did Chikane realize what was different about the other girl, what made her stand out from the rest of humanity. It was her aura. When Himeko smiled, the air around her shimmered with warmth and golden shines, ever caressing Chikane, embracing her, comforting her with their gentle touches. At long last, she had found what she wished for most. Since birth, her life had been nothing but abundant, where every of her desires were made reality. Yet, deep down, she knew something was eluding her, something she needed to be complete. And this fateful encounter had brought it to her, Chikane's sun, her one guiding light. _KurusugawaHimeko_. Incomprehensible as it might seem, Chikane had fallen helplessly in love, she realized, with the little angel who had descended into her arms. _

_"So, Chikane-chan, it's a promise, ne? Let's meet here tomorrow." Himeko put up her little finger, smiling. _

_"It is a promise, Kurusugawa-san." When Chikane's little finger connected with that of the golden-haired angel, a strange sensation overwhelmed her. Somewhere in the back of her head, a distant memory tugged at her, trying to remind her of something long forgotten. And unless she was seeing things, a thin ribbon was glowing around their fingers, pulsing bright red. It disappeared the instant their hands parted, though. She wondered what it was_...

_"You were saying, Kurusugawa-san, that you were looking for this puppy?" Chikane asked. _

_"Yup." Himeko beamed at her, her hand stroking the little puppy's head. "This ones owner is an elderly lady that runs a convenience store nearby. He's always by her side whenever I visit so I recognized him right away when I saw him wandering around earlier. He must have gone off on a little adventure, I guess." _

_"You are going to take him home, are you not?" _

_"Right. And I've got to be quick about it. Lunch break is going to be over soon, you see." When the little angel looked up, her eyes were tinged by disappointment, and her voice, regret. "I guess Ill see you tomorrow then." _

_As soon as Himeko turned around, Chikane's heart throbbed in panic. She did not want to see Himeko leave. She wished to talk to the girl more, and to hear her talk in return. She did not want their meeting to end so soon. Hurriedly, she walked after the little angel and put a hand on the girls shoulder just before she was about to leave the Garden of the Roses through the hidden exit. Hope all but shone in Himeko's amethyst eyes when she turned around and locked them with Chikane's sapphire. _

_"Would you like me to come with you, Kurusugawa-san?" Chikane offered, knowing full well what kind of answer she was going to get. "It is not safe for a girl to wander the streets alone these days." _

_The divine smile once again curved Himeko's delicate lips. Somehow, Chikane was under the impression that had she offered the little angel all the gold in the world instead, the girl still would not have appeared so overjoyed. _

That had been how Chikane got to know her first love, how their friendship began and blossomed into what was now a relationship strong enough to bind Chikane to Himeko for all eternity. Meeting with Himeko was an important turn of her life. Had it not been for it, she would have gone on living in boredom until death came to take her away. Had it not been for it, Chikane would never have known the meaning of life and love. Himeko was, after all, the one who raised the curtains of her soul and melted away the ice wall between her and the world.

After that day, they only got along better. Attracted toward each other like magnets of different poles, it would take a great deal of effort just to take them apart. Chikane was not quite sure about the other girl but the more Chikane came to know her, the more deeply Chikane fell in love. The golden-haired angel was unlike anyone Chikane ever met. She was kind, honest, and she truly cared about her friends. Best of all, she never got worked up about social standings. Even when she learned who Chikane was, Himeko still treated her with the same way she did before. The golden-haired girl was only concerned whether Chikane wanted her for a friend, not her wealth, or her status, she had confessed. Chikane never doubted for once second that it was the truth.

Filled with gratitude and affections for her new friend, Chikane started to do everything she could to be with her. She never minded staying in school after class to spend some time alone with the little angel, to take her somewhere she liked or to play the piano for her. She never minded waking up at two or three in the morning, either, to learn to make a lunchbox so that she could share with her new found love at break time. How she had shocked the Head Maid Kisaragi Otoha then, when the young woman went into the kitchen and saw that everything was a mess. She was by no means skilled at cooking, still, so the food she prepared ended up either burned or badly flavored. Yet, Himeko ate every bit. The content and happy expression on the girl's face had had Chikane glow in joy for the rest of the day.

Back then, Chikane thought those wonderful days would never end. She had believed that a future where only mortality would be their enemy was but secured and promised. In her wildest dream, she would never imagine that one day, she had to hand Himeko over to someone else like this. Suddenly, Chikane noticed that her cheeks were soaked with tears. She was crying. She should not be. Did she not decide that she had to give up on Himeko already?

Chikane used her sleeve to clean her face. Her efforts were in vain. No matter how hard she tried to stop the tears, they kept trickling out of her eyes and rolling down her cheeks. Chikane gave up. She leaned back against her pillows, letting the tears freely flow while biting her underlip hard to make sure no sound would come. She had forgotten that that blood tasted this bitter.

* * *

Lounging on the chair in front of his desk in the Temple of the Dragons, Girochi Tokiya gazed at the mirror of water he had wrought with Suikyou's power, one that delved into the consciousness and memory of the girl it showed. The Priestess of the Moon was agonizing, a fact an Orochi like himself should be gloating over. Yet, his heart felt as heavy as a good chunk of rocks. Was he... sympathizing toward her? Tokiya shook his head as hard as he could. That was pure idiocy. Himemiya Chikane was their archenemy, who had to be killed to ensure the safety of the Followers as a whole. He could not _afford_ feeling sorry for her now could he? 

"Having fun watching the Priestess, Tokiya?" the deep, sultry voice of his Aneki Miyako said from behind his back. Upon turning his head to look, Tokiya saw that the darkly tanned young woman was standing by the open door to his room, a little knowing smile adorning her lips. Behind her rectangular spectacles, her eyes were gleaming with speculations. His sister was _scheming_ something, he knew it.

"Since when did you arrive, Aneki?" Tokiya undid the vision spell with a snap of his fingers.

"Since the Priestess began to reminisce her happy days, I think." Miyako gave her lips a thoughtful tap. "By the way, Tokiya, do remember to close the door to your room, would you? I have a feeling that when you're not holding a sword, you're even more defenseless than a child," teased the Second Head of the Orochi.

"You saw it all?" he asked quietly. He knew his sister loved him... but sometimes he did wish she would find it in herself to respect his privacy.

"Pretty much, yes." The Vice-Commander of the Dark God's Followers laughed quietly. "Who could have thought that Himemiya Chikane was _so_ interesting?"

"You are planning something," Tokiya observed.

"What?" Miyako gave him a throaty, evil laughter. "Do you think seriously I would let such a good opportunity pass by without taking advantage of it?"

"You do not need me to remind you that the Lord forbids all harmful measures toward the Priestesses, do you?" His tone made certain that whatever his sole living family member was scheming in her head, he was going to neither approve of nor want to take part in it. He was an obedient servant of the Lord, and as such, he surely would not do anything that risked the displeasure of the God he worshipped. Besides, he did not wish to harm the Priestess of the Moon...

"Don't talk like I'm going to kill them, Tokiya, because I'm not." Miyako smiled coolly but decidedly menacingly. His beloved sister the Second Head might be, Tokiya could not deny the fact that she was an utterly dangerous woman. She was one person in this whole wide world aside from the Dark God that Tokiya would never want to cross.

"Then what is it you intend to do?" he asked in a suspicious tone while slowly rising from his seat.

"Driving a wedge between the Priestesses," announced Girochi Miyako, her voice brimming with excitement and glee. "I'm surprised at how much the Lord babied them while he should be commanding us to destroy them. I don't care if the Lord thinks he's strong enough to defeat Ame no Murakumo this time, what he's doing is way too dangerous." The displeased look on her face mirrored the emotion in her words. "I'm not going to sit in one place and watch the threat grow, Tokiya." His elder sister glanced at him, her face softening. "I will do anything to ensure the safety of both of us, little brother, you must understand that."

"I do, Aneki," Tokiya murmured, knowing full well that there was one more person that his elder sister had elected to not mention. Tokiya all but wondered if the young woman was aware of how he felt toward Tsubasa-sama, the Commander of the Orochi Heads.

"If you do, lend me your help, Tokiya. Suikyou will be especially handy in this case."

He studied his elder sister for another while, pondering the idea in his head, before he opened his mouth and asked quietly, "Can you promise me that you will do nothing that would go against the order of the Lord, Aneki?" His request was met with a slightly irritated look.

"Didn't I say that all I wanted to do was drive a wedge between them?" When the Second Head realize that the firm expression on Tokiya's face meant that he was not going to participate in her plan unless she promised, she sighed and said, "Fine, fine, you have my word."

Being siblings who had shared ups and downs all their lives, he understood his elder sister more than anyone else in the world. The tanned woman might have schemed to sow the seeds of discord in the Priestesses' relationship originally, but Tokiya knew that she would kill Himemiya Chikane or Kurusugawa Himeko, or both, if she believed that she could get away unscathed. Tokiya was definitely not going to let her succumb to idiocy and consequently receive severe punishment from the Dark God.

"Then you will have all the help I can offer, Aneki," Tokiya said.

"Very well." His sister laughed again, this time sounding exceptionally pleased. "Come to my room later when you're ready. You're going to show me everything the Priestess of the Moon has been feeling in her heart for the last month or so." When she turned to leave, though, Tokiya put a hand on her shoulder and halted her.

"You do love Tsubasa-sama a lot, do you not, Aneki?" he asked.

"If you don't know the answer to that, you're more of a moron than I thought," she said simply. Well, her feelings for the First Head were well-known, of course.

"Then what would you do if Tsubasa-sama fell in love with someone else?"

"I would burn that _someone_ to a crisp, my little brother." A cruel smile curved her lips. "No one will have Tsubasa-sama but me."

"What if Tsubasa loved her too much to live without her? What if killing her meant killing the man himself? Is there any chance that you would give him up for his own sake, Aneki?"

Silence followed his question and stretched until the smile on Miyako's lips curdled and died.

"You sure know how to pose difficult questions, Tokiya," the darkly tanned woman muttered irritably.

"Can you be like the Priestess?" he continued. "Would you... help set the two of them up on a date, for instant, while you cry alone at home in despair?"

"Now you're spouting nonsense." The Vice-Commander of the Orochi frowned at him. "Stop thinking about that and start preparing, will you?" With that, she left, footsteps heavy, face troubled, and eyes hot enough to do a burning log proud.

_That's a_ No_, right?_ Tokiya thought. _T__here is_ _no way in Hell you would do that, Aneki. _His mood grew sour._ I know, because I would not, either._ True, he was similar to the Priestess in the way they both had surrendered their one true love because they knew they could never win... yet if someone asked him the same question he had asked his elder sister, he was surely going to laugh at that someone's face. It was hurtful enough trying to forget the woman he had come to love. Helping her become happy with her lover was simply beyond his capabilities.

Yet... it was not beyond Himemiya Chikane's. That was what had been puzzling him for a while now. Tokiya was a player who would toy with a girl and left her to the mercy of the Gods once he devastated her life. He flitted from one girl to another, hardly spending any time considering whether what he did was right. His victims should be piling higher than Mount Fuji, and he would only chuckle in pride whenever he remembered them. Why should he bother himself over a bunch of girls who merely fell for his looks, who were merely masses of lust and dark desires anyway? That was what he had always thought. However, this one girl, the Moon Priestess, made him question his belief. For the first time in his life, Tokiya saw someone who sacrificed her feelings for her beloved's sake. She was unimaginably foolish. She was undoubtedly insane. Yet at the same time she was so disgustingly noble he began to have some respect for someone he should not.

* * *

"Here you go, Chikane-chan," Kurusugawa Himeko murmured as she laid the food tray she had been carrying upon the table by her beloved princess's bedside. On the wooden receptacle sat a large bowl of thick porridge the content of which smelled so good it could make any person's mouth water whether that same person's stomach was full or not. Or so she would believe before she glanced at the girl she loved... Chikane-chan obviously thought otherwise. As soon as the Himemiya Ojou-sama's sapphire gaze fell upon the food tray, her expression grew sour and her mouth twisted in distaste. She shivered, too. 

"Why did _you_ of all people bring that here, Himeko?" inquired the princess, who was leaning her back against the headboard. The blue-haired girl, in a nightgown different from the one in which she had collapsed in the morning, looked infinitely better than before. A healthy color had returned to her cheeks, the beautiful gleam to her sapphire eyes, and strength to her slender body. Come tomorrow and no one could have guessed that Chikane-chan had been struck down by a strange sickness earlier today.

"Because Otoha-san was desperate, Chikane-chan," Himeko answered with a smile that was part firm and part rueful as she settled herself down on the bed, next to the light of her world. "She said that you had been refusing to eat no matter what she brought in. Is that right?"

_"Please, Kurusugawa-sama,"_ Kisaragi Otoha-san had called Himeko's name in a surprisingly beseeching voice. The young woman with the curly hair had cornered Himeko as soon as she stepped past the entrance to the Mansion of the Himemiya. In the waning light of the setting sun, the Head Maid's face was pale, her lips bloodless, and her hands never stopped fidgeting with the front of her Himemiya livery outfit. _"Help me persuade Ojou-sama to eat something, I beg of you. She has not touched her food since the morning!" _Despair all but filled her words.

Saying that the young woman was desperate was an understatement, actually. Himeko didn't have to pay much attention to her to realize that Otoha-san was at her wit's end. The fact that she was asking Himeko, whom she without a doubt disliked with a passion, for help was the proof that the Head Maid was on the verge of panic. Himeko could sympathize with her. For someone whose entire life had been diligently devoted to serving the blue-haired princess, there could be nothing more frightening that seeing Chikane-chan disregard her own health and refuse to listen to other's counsel.

"I wondered what had given Otoha-san the notion that you could persuade me." The princess gave her a cool look that was more playful than serious.

"Maybe the fact that you aren't going to refuse me anything I want?" Himeko professed honestly.

Chikane-chan didn't say anything in response to that. The princess merely studied Himeko with a strange expression on her lovely face until Himeko's own began to flush under the full attention of the one she loved. "Must you press me so, Himeko?" the blue-haired girl decided to speak up in the end. "Everything tastes like dust in my mouth. Why bother making me eat when I do not want to?" Her voice was serious, her face blank, and her eyes, blue fire under the bed lamps on either side of her bed, were as distant as the stars on high.

"It's for your own good, Chikane-chan," Himeko insisted, exasperation taut in her voice. "Without something in your stomach, how will you last the night?"

The Himemiya Ojou-sama heaved a long, defeated sigh. "Fine, fine," she muttered in resignation. "I will do as you wish." While Himeko smiled at her, the other girl shifted her body on the bed and reached for the bowl of porridge near the bed lamp. As soon as her delicate hands touched the thing, they recoiled as though gnawed by some wild animal. "Oww," she muttered with a rueful smile.

"Be careful, Chikane-chan," Himeko said worriedly as she took the princess's hands into hers to examine. She heaved a sigh of relief when she saw that although her sweetheart's fingers were a little reddened from the heat, there was no sign that they would require treatment. Leave them alone and they would recover in no time, she believed. "You should have taken the tray instead, you know," she added.

Chikane-chan said nothing and merely watched Himeko with a face she couldn't read.

"Let me help you." Himeko picked up the tray and laid it on her lap, took a spoonful of porridge out of it, gently breathed on the content to take off some of the heat, and then put the spoon in front of her beloved's lovely mouth. "Say _ah_, Chikane-chan."

The princess's blank expression never changed a hair even when she gracefully tucked the hair on the sides of her face behind her ears, even when she opened her mouth wide enough just for Himeko, and even when every spoon fed to the girl she loved made Himeko's heart beat a little bit faster, her cheeks turn warmer, and her own lips become dryer. What would she not give for a kiss? What would she not pay for an embrace? What would she not kill to receive the princess's love?

Nothing.

"Do you want seconds, Chikane-chan?" Himeko asked hopefully once the bowl of porridge had been emptied. Her bubble burst instantly, of course, when the princess simply gave a slight shake of her head, her face betraying so little emotion she could have made a rock look cheerful.

"You have a little bit of porridge on your face, Chikane-chan," Himeko pointed out at the same time she picked up the napkin and reached for the spot just below the princess's underlip. She froze dead in her track, however, the moment the blue-haired girl's hand, utterly gentle but quick as lightning, caught her by the wrist.

"I... can do it myself. Thank you, Himeko," the other girl murmured in a deathly quiet voice, her sapphire eyes locked with Himeko's amethyst in an intense gaze that seared deep into her soul. Still in shock, she watched as the Himemiya Ojou-sama's vacant hand removed the napkin and used it to clean up the leftover porridge. Then she let go of Himeko's hand.

After that, the two of them looked at each other until the silence made Himeko so uncomfortable she blurted out the first thing that popped up in her mind, "Do you want me to call Oogami-sensei, Chikane-chan? I'm sure he'll understand it and postpone the Unseal Ritual scheduled for tomorrow if I tell him that you are not feeling well."

"Will you stop fussing over me, Himeko?" For the first time since Himeko stepped inside the room, the princess laughed softly. "I am not so weak I need to stay home another day just because of a little sickness." Her laughter held no mirth, her eyes remained chilling, and her face could have been carved from eternal ice. She made Himeko want to run her hands up and down her arms to warm herself up. Why was Himeko's sweetheart acting so strangely tonight?

"Speaking of the Oogami, though," Chikane-chan gave her lips a tap, "How did your confession go?"

"That's not a confession," Himeko mumbled. "And I didn't have the chance to talk to Sou-chan today anyway. His tennis club advisor dragged him away as soon as I saw him during lunch break. He said something about the upcoming match between Ototachibana and another high school, I don't know."

"What a pity," the blue-haired princess commented casually.

"Well, before Sou-chan was dragged away, I asked him out the day after tomorrow, seeing how it was a holiday that the school observed," Himeko said, slightly irritated. She had planned to stay home with the one she loved on that day... but it couldn't be helped now could it. She had to conclude the whole affair with her childhood friend as soon as possible. The longer she let it continue, the more the boy would be hurt in the end. She surely didn't want that.

"Why the day after next? Tomorrow cannot work for you?"

"Sou-chan's match is tomorrow, Chikane-chan." Himeko gave the girl she loved a smile.

"I see," Chikane-chan said simply, not returning the smile as Himeko thought she would. Her stomach lurched a little. There was indeed something very wrong with the Himemiya Ojou-sama today. But what?

"I would have come back home right away," Himeko sighed and continued, her head buzzing with doubts, "but unfortunately, my World History teacher caught me leaving and took me back to the classroom with him. That's why I couldn't get out until school ended. I'm sorry, Chikane-chan," she said apologetically.

"What are you apologizing for?" the princess raised her hand and gently combed her fingers through Himeko's golden tresses. "I have wanted you to stay in school in the first place."

Himeko was about to say something when the blue-haired girl cut her short, "I am sorry, Himeko, but I would like to sleep a little bit. Can we continue the conversation tomorrow?"

"Sure, Chikane-chan," Himeko answered, voice uneasy. Did the other girl ever dismiss her like this before? "Sleep well, ne?"

"Thank you," was the only thing the blue-haired princess said to Himeko before she closed the door and found herself standing in a daze in the hallway of the Himemiya Mansion. For some reason, though, she had a feeling that Chikane-chan's eyes were still on her back. A terrible word popped in her head and made chills ran all the way through her body. _Lifeless_ was what would best describe the Himemiya Ojou-sama's current state. A sickness couldn't make somebody look that way, could it?

* * *

Oogami Kazuki had been through countless battles, most of them life-threatening, but never before had he feel so insecure, so unsettled, and so _afraid_. He had come here, the Enshrinement Chamber of Shingetsu, where the Eyes of Heaven were kept safe, countless times during the last twenty years but this was the first time he had to consume every ounce of his strength in order to not quake in his boots. A dozen feet away from him, at the center of the Chamber, on either side of the column of eternal ice that encased the pair of weapons known as the True Keys of Awakening, stood the Priestesses of the Sun and Moon, who were reciting the incantations while being absolutely unaware of the menacing aura radiating from the five remaining Shinken Swords. 

Kazuki couldn't help but tremble in fear. The Shinken were guardians of Ame no Hitomi, the Eyes of Heaven. Despite the fact that they were incapable of speech, they were still sentient beings charged with the duty of removing all those who were foolish enough to think that they could claim the Keys... or those who wished the Keys gone from the bottom of their hearts. As soon as either of the two kinds came inside the Shinken's sphere of influence, the Swords would unleash their sacred lightning and annihilated the ones whom they deemed dangerous. However, before the Shinken struck, they would first give a warning by ringing out in a malicious melody and radiating a hateful aura that was unmistakable to a Shingetsu High Priest. And the Shinken Seals were doing exactly that _now_.

_"Kurusugawa-san, Himemiya-san, get away, now!" _Kazuki cried.

The two girls immediately stopped chanting and looked at Kazuki, confusion evident on their pretty faces. Yet, he was too late in warning the Priestesses, as the Shinken Seals had already entered their offensive phase. Ribbons of lightning, so white they made falling snow look dark and so hot they made the sun seem cool, sprang forth from the five columns of light in which the Shinken resided and rushed straight toward... Himemiya Chikane, the Priestess of the Moon.

_"Chikane-chan!"_ Kurusugawa Himeko screamed.

In spite of being caught off guard by the Shinken's assaults, the daughter of the Himemiya was no simple mortal. In less than a second, she had succeeded in drawing enough energy from the Moon Crest on her back, which glowed brighter than noonday, to construct a barrier of silver light around her slender frame. The ribbons of white lightning that were the embodiment of the Shinken Seals, as a result, could only ricochet off the smooth surface of the barrier and wrought havoc upon the rocky walls, ceiling, and floor of the great Chamber. One of the lightning bolts, however, would have sheared an arm off Kurusugawa Himeko's body had the girl not reacted quickly enough and thrown herself out of the way.

Frightened by that she saw, possibly horrified at what her barrier could have done to the girl she loved, Himemiya Chikane immediately dispelled her only means of defense. As soon as the silver light wreathing around her melted like mist in the morning sun, a second wave of sacred lightning came forward from the Shinken Swords and struck the daughter of the Himemiya dead on. The girl screamed out in utmost agony before she fell on her stomach upon the Chamber floor, her body engulfed in fuming smoke.

In but a few strides, Kazuki arrived at the side of the fallen Priestess at the same time Kurusugawa Himeko did.

"Himemiya-san!" he called urgently as he took the seventeen years old girl into his arms. Her eyes were closed, her skin hot even beneath the fabric of her Priestess outfit. Eventually, the smoke faded away. "Himemiya-san!" Pressing his fingers against the underside of her wrist, Kazuki heaved a sigh of relief the moment he realized that her heart was still beating. He guessed that perhaps her inner powers had protected her against the sacred lightning of the Shinken. Else, the girl would have been rendered to dust.

"Chikane-chan!" called Kurusugawa Himeko, her face soaked with tears, her voice tattered, both of her hands squeezing around her housemate's left. "Answer me, Chikane-chan! Please!"

Kazuki could have assured the golden-haired girl that Chikane was alright... had his head not been filled with questions the answers to which he couldn't believe. He merely sat there like with one knee on the floor like a lamp post, his eyes glued at the pretty face of the child lying unconscious in his arms. Goosebumps rose all over his skin, daggers of ice staking his heart. _It just... couldn't be! _he thought in horror.

"I'm sorry, Chikane-chan..." a grief-stricken Kurusugawa Himeko sobbed as she received her comrade from Kazuki and held the girl as tightly as she could. "It was because I screwed up the ritual that the Shinken attacked you... It was because you wanted to protect me that you were hurt... I'm sorry, Chikane-chan..." Tears flowed down her face in streams and dripped onto the other girl's cheeks. "I'm sorry..."

As if the tears of the Sun Priestess were the strongest healing spell, Himemiya Chikane opened her eyes. Weakly, slowly, but steadily, the hand of the blue-haired girl rose upward and placed itself upon the other girl's wet cheek. "Do not cry, Himeko," she murmured in a tired voice, "I am okay."

"Chikane-chan..." was all Kurusugawa Himeko could say before she wept harder than ever on her friend's shoulder. Himemiya Kyou and Kimika's daughter, cuddled snugly in the arms of the one she loved, gradually let go of her fleeting consciousness and sank back into the land of the dark.

Oogami Kazuki peered at Himemiya Chikane, his hands clenched into fist. Himeko was mistaken when she said she had screwed up the ritual. As far as Kazuki could tell, there was absolutely nothing wrong with the way the Priestess of the Sun recited the ancients words that were supposed to disarm the Shinken Swords. No there wasn't. The Seals must have viewed the Priestess of the Moon as dangerous. That should be the sole reason why they assaulted _her_ instead of the other two people inside this chamber. Chills slithered down his spine. Himemiya Chikane had to be harboring some sort of dark thoughts toward the objects the Seals were safeguarding... the Eyes of Heaven themselves!

She couldn't have regained her _memory_, could she?

* * *

Standing by the open window of her room, arms folded beneath her chest, eyes gazing into the darkness of night, Himemiya Chikane was deeply disturbed. Despite being struck by the sacred lightning of the Shinken less than twelve hours ago, there was not even a burnt mark on her body. Sadly enough, the Shinken had done something much worse than that. Instead of hurting her physically, they tormented her mind. Whenever she went down to that wretched Enshrinement Chamber, a lava-hot and tornado-strong emotion she could only name hatred would rise in her soul and overwhelmed her completely. Whenever she looked at the throbbing golden sphere trapped in the middle of that eternal ice pillar, her eyes burned with madness, her heart convulsed in disgust, and her blood went boiling with murderous intent. She but wondered why she despised the Shinken, the Eyes of Heaven, and Ame no Murakumo so much. 

Sighing, she opened the French window and stepped out to the balcony, where she found her blue, flowing tresses caressed by the night winds, where she heard a voice drifting out from the open window of the room next door, which happened to belong to Kurusugawa Himeko, the girl Chikane so dearly loved.

"Hi, Sou-chan, how're you?" the voice of the little angel said. Chikane could not have overheard this under normal conditions, of course, but in her current state, where the Priestess power raced in her every vein and gifted her with inhumanly acute senses, she could have been standing next to the golden-haired girl, listening to her talking on the phone with Oogami Souma.

Not wanting to do something as low as eavesdropping on other people, least of all the light of her heart, Chikane turned and walked back into her room. She froze, however, upon hearing the little angel's next words. "I'm fine, thanks," said the golden-haired girl in an apologetic voice. "Um, Sou-chan, I call to apologize. You see, I can't make it tomorrow."

Chikane blinked. Himeko was canceling out on Oogami Souma, the boy she apparently had fallen head over heels for? Why?

"Why?" the little angel echoed the question in Chikane's head. "Ah, you see, I don't want to leave Chikane-chan alone at home tomorrow." Chikane's heart started to pound. "She looks fine, I know, but I don't think she's feeling well after all that happened over your house earlier. I... I... only want to take care of her. It was my fault she was hurt." The girl's voice trembled. "During all the time we were together, she always cared for me, protected me, and did her best to make me happy. But... but... all I ever gave her in return was trouble. I can't keep doing that, Sou-chan. I owe her everything I have, including my own life. I'm sorry I have to break the promise but..."

Silence.

"What storm warning?" the angel continued after a while. "On TV? I'm sorry I haven't been watching..." Another pause came. "You mean there's going to be a storm tomorrow? You mean you were about to call me when the phone rang? I see, so we can't go tomorrow anyway... Thanks for letting me know, Sou-chan... and I'm sorry."

Chikane walked inside and closed her window. On her bed she sat for a while, trains of thoughts crisscrossing her head, until she stood up once more and took out her mobile phone. She dialed a number then, and spoke with a firm voice when the call was picked up by some person in the Shingetsu Grand Shrine, "Good evening, my name is Himemiya Chikane. May I speak to Oogami Souma-san, please?"

_The nicer you are to me, the more it will hurt me in the end, Himeko,_ Chikane thought in bitterness. _If I am going to lose you, I better get used to it now or... I will kill myself the moment you take wings and fly to a sky I cannot reach. _

* * *

Standing by the window in her pajama, Himeko watched the heavy raindrops descend from a sky that was entirely shrouded with the darkest clouds she ever saw in her entire life. On the TV last night, the weather forecasters went as far as issuing an emergency flood warning to the Mahoroba citizens who lived by the coast. The experts predicted that they might even experience high waves coming from the sea, which would certainly wreak terrible havoc along the coastline and terribly affect Mahoroba City itself. It was indeed a good thing that Himemiya International had taken up the responsibility of giving shelter to the Orochi victims who had their homes ruined in the Followers' first raid. Those poor people would have frozen to death in this kind of weather, Himeko was sure. 

A knock on her door interrupted her train of thought.

"May I come in, Himeko?" the blue-haired princess's gentle voice called.

"Please do, Chikane-chan."

"What are you doing standing there?" the Himemiya princess said once she had stepped inside and closed the door behind her. "Oogami-san is going to pick you up anytime soon."

"He's not. I told him I want to stay home today," Himeko explained to the taller girl, who had already begun to browse through Himeko's wardrobe. After the Himemiya Ojou-sama had given her that outrageously priced one piece dress for free, she had also gifted Himeko with a ton of others on the following day. Now she had every kind of clothes a girl could ever need in her whole life... and maybe even the next one, also

"I know." Chikane-chan smiled ruefully. "Forgive me, but I overheard you yesterday on the phone."

"Oh did you...?" A very uneasy feeling crept into Himeko's heart.

"I called Oogami-san shortly afterwards and informed him that you would go out with him as planned." Himeko's stomach sank, an invisible claw clenching her throat. Her beloved princess was fully aware of the reason why she wanted to postpone the appointment with her childhood friend, and she still wanted Himeko to go in spite of that?

While she was still shocked by the unexpected turn of event, Chikane-chan had some of her maids come in and help Himeko change. Everything happened so fast that when Himeko could snap out of her daze, she was fully and properly dressed with one of her luxurious and flashy garments. Although she was on the verge of panic, she waited patiently for the servants to withdraw from the room before she spoke to the taller girl in an anxious voice, "But I can't go out in this weather, can I?"

"What weather?" the other girl asked calmly while walking toward the French window, which she opened wide afterwards. A strong, freezing gust of wind brought a heavy load of rain into the room, slowly staining the princess's white coat and her long sweeping skirt.

"What are you doing, Chikane-chan?" Himeko asked, dimly aware of what was going to happen in this very room.

"This." The princess gave another dazzling smile that did nothing to lighten Himeko's mood.

She fell silent the moment a silver disc of light in the shape of the Moon Crest emerged beneath the other girl's feet. All at once, the sounds of the rain plummeting upon the roof of the Himemiya Mansion, the winds howling across the earth, and the lightning tearing the night apart died down as though someone had found the Mute button of the world and pushed it. Her clothes stirring slightly although there wasn't a gentlest breeze, Himeko's one and only love raised her right hand and brought it down from left to right in a fast, decisive stroke. High in the heavens shrouded by darkness, the clouds parted in a clean cut as though slashed by a knife. Every additional stroke of Chikane's hand continued to sever the cloud-ridden sky until all the paths she had cleared formed a gigantic pentacle inscribed within a circle. Then the symbol set itself ablaze in a blinding flash silver light and a deafening roar.

When the light faded away, neither a tiniest bit of cloud nor a drop of water remained in Himeko's field of view. The sun was there once more amid the cerulean sky, washing its golden shines upon the verdant field that was the Himemiya's endless garden. The storm might have never existed.

Another time, Himeko would have been amazed at the miracle Chikane-chan just performed. Another time, she would have opened her eyes wide in wonder and unleashed her onslaught of questions upon the one she loved. However, with the departure of this one storm, another raged on in her soul, a blizzard that would freeze hell over. Himeko gathered her arms around her body, trying to keep herself still. Moisture started to grow in her eyes.

"See, Himeko, it is alright now," Chikane-chan smiled tenderly at her.

"You wish to see me go no matter what, Chikane-chan?" Himeko heard her voice breaking like stepped-on glass. She made no effort to hide it. She didn't have the strength to, anyhow. "What have I done to make you dislike me so?" Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes and rolled down her cheeks.

"What are you saying?" said the blue-haired princess, appearing terribly confused. "How can I dislike you? I... I..." She stopped abruptly.

"I said I wanted to stay home with you," Himeko buried her face in her hands and sobbed. "I said I wanted to take care of you. I only wanted to make you happy. Why won't you let me? Why do you keep pushing me away?"

The sadness, the pain, and the disappointment that had been pending up inside her heart now broke free from the restraints with which she had imprisoned them and swallowed her whole. She had wished that Chikane-chan would somehow come to see her as more than a friend. She had hoped that a day would come where her blue-haired princess would take her hand and tell her that she loved her. She was now no longer sure she should persevere and wait until her dream was made reality. And it _wasn't_ going to be, seeing how Chikane-chan had been trying her hardest to bring Himeko and her childhood friend together, how the princess never showed the slightest hint of jealousy, and how the blue-haired girl refused to let Himeko learn what lay in her heart.

"I know I'm useless. I know I can't do anything right. I know I brought you more trouble with every blunder I made, but... but..." Himeko continued in her tearful, trembling voice, "I just don't want you to hate me, Chikane-chan."

One second, she was standing by herself near the bed, her body shaking the way a thin tree would against a strong gust of wind. On the next, she found herself in the gentle embrace of the one she dearly loved. Chikane-chan's arms were around Himeko's shoulders, the former's hand combing through her golden tresses. Still overwhelmed by grief, Himeko pounded her tiny hand upon the princess's own shoulder and wept harder than ever. The Himemiya Ojou-sama let her do as she wished. The blue-haired girl merely held Himeko close and brushed her hair in silence.

"Why do you say such things, Himeko?" the princess murmured after a while. "Hate you? How am I supposed to do that? You are closer than any sister my parents could have given. You are more precious to me than any other person in this world. If only... if only I could show you how much I like you. Have you any idea why I brought you here, why I tried so hard to free the Eyes of Heaven with you?"

"Because... you want to save the people?" Himeko mumbled, her mind going numb. In the princess's arms, the storm of emotions in Himeko finally abated. With the blue-haired girl's arms wrapped around her so gently, with her body heat invading every fiber of Himeko's existence, she thought she was going to melt. Her heart, aching in pain just a few moments ago, now pounded madly when she began to hear what the other girl had just told her. _Closer than any sister. More precious than any person in this world,_ those words rang in her mind in a heart-warming melody. Did Chikane-chan just say what Himeko thought she said?

"That is not true." The Himemiya Ojou-sama shook her head, her cheek brushing against that of Himeko. "Whatever happens to them is none of my concern. The one whom I care for, whom I want to protect, whose smile I wish to behold, is _you_, Himeko." She placed a hand upon Himeko's cheek and caressed it almost lovingly.

"Me?" Himeko murmured as she looked up at the beautiful face of the one she loved, feeling blood suffuse her own and warm it up rapidly.

"Who else?" Chikane-chan gave her a little melancholic smile. "You are the person I would gladly trade my life for, have I not told you so already? Had it been possible, I would have hogged you all to myself. Had it been okay, I would have never let you out of my sight for one split second. Can you imagine how much it hurt me to see that with the arrival of Oogami Souma, I am no longer your number one? Do you know how much it pained me to realize that you were drifting further and further away from me while I could do nothing to stop it?" The princess sighed. "Still, it is a fact I have to accept. It is inevitable. You do not belong to me. I have no right to become the obstacle standing in your way to happiness. So I let go of you. I do not hate you, Himeko. I just wish you to spend more time by the side of the one you love. Seeing you happy is all I ever want, you must know that."

Tears broke out from Himeko's eyes once more.

"I am sorry, Himeko. Did I say something bad?" Chikane-chan said as she hastily pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket and used it to dab at Himeko's face.

"No, it's not your fault, Chikane-chan," Himeko managed between the sobs that the princess had successfully renewed for her. "I'm just... I'm just glad I got the answer I've been looking for. I'm sorry I misunderstood you, Chikane-chan." She fastened her arms around the other girl's soft, fragrant body and wept openly into her full bosom.

"Then cry no more," murmured the blue-haired princess as she dried the last tear off Himeko's face. "Oogami-san will think terrible of me if he sees you in such condition."

It finally made sense to her. Himeko was right when she started suspecting that Chikane-chan was in love with her all along. The reason why the princess never showed her a sign of jealousy, why she never made any attempt to confess, and why she appeared to be shunning Himeko were because she thought Himeko was in love with her childhood friend. The blue-haired girl did her best to bring Himeko and Sou-chan together not because she wanted to, but because she wished for Himeko's happiness. Himeko's sweetheart had been suppressing her emotion all along for her sake. She noticed that Chikane-chan never said that she loved her right out... but it couldn't be more obvious now could it?

_I love you, Chikane-chan,_ Himeko thought as she put her arms around the princess's neck, rose on her toes, and attempted to claim the lips of the blue-haired girl. She froze dead, however, the moment someone knocked on the door to her room.

"Kurusugawa-sama," the voice of Kisaragi Otoha the Head Maid called, "Oogami-sama has arrived. He is waiting for you at the entrance."

At first, Himeko thought that she was going to let her childhood friend wait down there and proceed to confess her love to the blue-haired princess. A second later, she decided that it would be a bad idea to do so. It would take quite a bit of time to explain to Chikane-chan that all there was nothing romantic going on between her and the boy Oogami Souma, that she was the only one Himeko ever loved. And once she had revealed her feelings to the Himemiya Ojou-sama, there was no guarantee that she could break away and still go with Sou-chan afterwards. Besides, it would be best to clear the misunderstanding between her and the boy first. Now that Himeko had learned how the princess felt toward her, time to spend by each other's side was the one thing they did not lack.

"Make me one promise, Chikane-chan," she pleaded. "Be here when I return, please. It won't take very long. Once I've settled everything, I'll come back to you for sure. There's so much I have to tell you, Chikane-chan."

"I promise," said the blue-haired princess with a smile. "Now go. Do not make Oogami-san wait."

"Have a good day, Chikane-chan." Himeko placed a soft kiss on her sweetheart's cheek before she let go of her and hurried out of her room. Chikane-chan would keep the promise. The princess would wait for Himeko. The girl she loved would listen to her confession then. If the Gods were willing, they might share their first kiss tonight. If all went well, Chikane-chan might become much more than Himeko's best friend before the dawn of a new day, the dawn of their new world.

* * *

Sitting upon a branch of one of the oak trees near little Chikane's window, her body shielded from the naked eyes, Yui the Goddess of the Sun silently watched as the blue-haired girl's slender frame disintegrated into a million sparks of silver stars and fused into the light of the morning. Yui but wondered where the girl went. 

"Did you see what she did with the storm, Yue?" Yui asked the silver-haired girl sitting one branch below hers. The Goddess of the Moon, in her heavenly robe the color of which was as white as driven snow, appeared someone who had just been saved from drowning in the sea. Her face, normally cold as ice and hard as iron, now was but aglow with excitement, joy, and relief. She had never seemed more beautiful in the last three thousand years Yui had spent by her side.

"Yes," answered the Goddess of the Moon with a cool voice and a face that made her voice seem warm and affable. Happy enough to be jumping up and down inside or not, she was surely not going to show Yui an ounce of friendliness. "Since her collapse yesterday, she had regained at least half of her powers. Now she is the equal to any Orochi Follower, including the kid with Hokuto the Star Blade."

"You don't think that it's a good thing," Yui observed.

"_How_ is it a good thing?" Yue very nearly snapped. "Her powers are the chains that keep _it_ locked inside Chikane's heart. The fact that they are coming back to her only means that the binding is being weakened."

Pretending to be unaware of the heat in the other girl's voice, Yue replied nonchalantly, "So what? It isn't as if all of the chains have been broken. Give the child some credit, will you? Chikane's willpower is strong, that you know better than anyone does. Else, she couldn't have held back the mechanism until this point."

"Strong? The child is _dying_ inside! Do you not see how tormented she was?"

"I'm not blind," Yui reminded the silver-haired Goddess, who sniffed derisively. Yui elected not to hear that, either. "True, she has suffered much,' she continued as though uninterrupted, "but her suffering will end tonight, when little Himeko comes back and delivers her out of the hell in which she has confined her heart. There will no longer be any problem then, is there?" The face of the Goddess of the Moon softened, her lips curving upward in a gentle smile. Her foul mood might never have existed. Yui sighed. Only the Priestesses could have done something as miraculous as turning their foster mother from a woman carved from ice into one made of flesh and blood. Yui _wished_ she could do that sometimes.

"Perhaps you are right," murmured the silver-haired girl in a soft voice that was almost impossible to be heard. Well, it was somewhat of an improvement, in any case. The Goddess of the Moon could have fired off some scathing comment at Yui instead of saying something that sounded almost demure and sweet. Yui but wondered if there was any other woman in all of the Three Worlds who was as hard to please as the girl that was sitting so close to her.

It was odd, in any event. Normally one would expect one person to at least vaguely take after her parents. Yue... never did. Her mother, the Supreme Ruler of the Underworld, Izanami-sama, was heavens and earth different from the Goddess of the Moon the way the former was vibrant, kind to almost everybody she met, and had a warm personality. Sometimes Yui could not believe how it was that a daughter could be so different from one another... She froze at the end of the thought and started to chuckle quietly to herself. She was in no position to say that, actually, the way she and her father, Izanagi-sama, was one another's opposite. In any case, it would have made a lot more sense had Yue been the daughter of the male Maker of the World and Yui, the female one.

"By the way, Yue," Yui called softly. "Have you been keeping contact with Izanami-sama?"

Apparently, it was the wrong question to ask, for the face of the Goddess of the Moon darkened almost immediately. "Not since three thousand years ago," came the heated answer. Strangely, though, the silver-haired girl voice was tinted with sadness.

"Do you hate your mother, Yue?" Yui asked curiously.

Grief replaced Yue's angry expression. "How can I hate her?" she muttered. "She gave birth to me. She granted me enough power to be able to live on without being looked down by others. Yet... yet betrayal was all I repaid her with. I am much worse than a mortal... or even an animal." Her voice cracked. The girl seemed on the verge of tears.

Yui knew what her fellow Goddess meant when she uttered the word _"betrayal"_. Three millennia back in the shadow of the past, a terrible event named the Great Conflict by the historians broke out between the Ruler of Heaven and the Ruler of the Underworld, both happened to be residing in the Heavenly Palace of Izumo then. No one was ever aware of the cause except Izanami-sama and Izanagi-sama. All that the people of the Holy City knew was that the two Makers got into some huge argument, which ended up infuriated Izanami-sama so terribly she decided to sever all diplomatic ties with Izumo and take her daughter, Tsukiyomi the Goddess of the Moon, back to her birthplace, Reiha of the Underworld.

Around that time, Yui was spending every of her days in the safe haven that is her room in the Tower of the Sun, where she cried herself to sleep. In such a pathetic state, she lost the power to govern the Sun, which went horribly wrong as a result. The golden star went cold, thus depriving the citizens of the Three Worlds of the light and the warmth without which they could not survive. Worse, as soon as Yue left Heaven, the moon stopped shining, for the Sealing Field encompassing Reiha disrupted the connection between the silver star and its governess, the Goddess of the Moon. Without both the sun and moon, no light came to the Human World. Monsters and demons were born from the depth of night with a terrifying rare, free to roam the earth, free to devour its innocent dwellers.

The Ruler of Izumo had tried to rouse Yui then, hoping she would regain enough power to return the light of the sun to the world. He failed. Regardless of the methods he employed in his attempt to bring Yui back to duty, eternal snow storms covered the surface of the then ice-cold sun. The end of the human world was but imminent. Frustrated, the man decided to deal with the situation the rough way. Thinking that being the most powerful entity in the Three Worlds would let him do whatever he wanted, Izanagi-sama ventured into the Underworld all by himself, his true purpose unknown. He made a severe miscalculation, in any case. Completely unaware of the existence of the Sealing Field, created from a special breed of flowers called the Crystal Roses that bloomed everywhere in the Underworld, the moment he arrived at Reiha was also the moment his powers were all taken away. As a result, he was imprisoned in the World of Souls... and would have stayed there for at least a few years without the Goddess of the Moon's intervention.

The girl, who appeared at the entrance to Izanagi-sama's prison cell a few days after he was captured, freed him and helped him get back to the World of the Gods. Her heroic deeds did not go unnoticed. The Ruler of Izumo, overwhelmed by his gratitude to the eighteen-year-old Goddess, adopted her into his family and granted her the status of a High Immortal, a being who was protected by the law. Yue had been staying in Heaven ever since she was elevated to the highest echelon of the Gods.

"Betrayal is too strong a word," Yui told the Goddess of the Moon. "I'm quite sure your mother won't blame you for what you did out of compassion and mercy, Yue."

"Compassion? Mercy?" the silver-haired girl scoffed. "Do you really think that I saved that man because I pitied him? Please, he was, and still is, one of the people I hate and despise the most."

"What?" Yui gaped at her fellow Goddess.

"I will let you into my little secret, Yui," said Yue, her silver eyes aglow, beautiful face contorted in grief. "I betrayed my mother, who is my flesh and blood, because of my own selfish wish. Do you see how twisted I am?"

Yui was about to inquire further into the matter and try to find out the truth when she was suddenly struck by a wave of dizziness. Fire coursed in her veins, thunder roared in her head, and a storm of needles raged upon every inch of her skin. _Not now!_ she thought pleadingly. _No!_

* * *

Akira's tears rolled off his face and fell onto the floor. Each time a drop touched the thick tatami layer, the whole room trembled as though the surface of a pond disturbed by a rock. It was the same with the fake view of the white lily fields out there, beyond the open shoji doors of his dimensional prison. It, too, shook under his powers. Lately, there had been times when Akira regained his consciousness and had an idea of what was happening around him. In those short moments, he was hurt even more, for he was but aware that he had been separated from the one he loved. 

_Rinne, where are you?_ Akira cried in silence as white lightning jagged across the room. If only they could free him and let him see her one more time. If only...

* * *

"What is wrong with you?" Yue the Goddess of the Moon frowned at the golden-haired woman sitting one branch above, who looked pale as a sheet of paper, whose hands were trembling at her sides. 

"Nothing," replied the Goddess of the Sun with a voice that contradicted her answer. "I... will see you around... Yue." With a flicker of her hand, golden light poured out of Yui's body. Before they could envelop her and transport her away, however, they snuffed out like a candle in the wind. Then the woman's eyes drew shut. The Goddess of the Sun lost her balance and fell off the oak tree.

_"Yui!" _Yue screamed at the same time she unleashed her powers. A wave of silver light emerged from her hand formed a large cloth around the golden-haired woman's body and caught her in its midst. When it was done lowering her gently onto the ground, it disappeared.

Kneeling by the side of the Goddess of the Sun, who was sweating within an inch of her life, whose skin was hot as the surface of any oven, Yue let her right hand hover just an inch above the woman's forehead and gently eased her powers inside in an attempt of learning just exactly what was wrong. Her eyebrows tried to shot off Yue's scalp, however, when she realized that Yui's own powers were in great turmoil, and that they were causing huge damage to the golden-haired woman's internal organs. Yue stared at her in utmost incredulity. So far, in the history of Heaven, there was not even one Immortal who had fallen sick. What could be going on here?

Trying to calm herself down, Yue placed the palm of her hand upon Yui's forehead and unleashed her healing power. Golden light blazed fiercely as an invisible but incredible force hurled Yue's hand away. Yue was shocked. They were the Goddesses of the Sun and Moon, the manipulator of the light of Heaven, known to possess an equal amount of strength. Yet, according to what Yue sensed during the instant her powers collided with those of the Goddess of the Sun, the latter's strength far outstripped her. Worse, the energy in the golden-haired Immortal's was growing in such an alarming rate that unless something was done, Yui was going to be burned to _death_.

Hurriedly, Yue tried to force her healing power inside the Goddess of the Sun over and over again. Every single time, Yue's hand would be flung away by the invisible force. Every single time, Yue would apply a little more strength and try to keep her hand still on the other woman's forehead. Silver light clashed with golden every second, Yue's powers against Yui's in a fierce battle that she was not sure she could win. Except that she had to win, no matter what the price she had to pay afterwards. _Hang in there, Yui, _she thought pleadingly._ I am not going to let you die on me. You are not allowed to. You... you are the only one I_...

Out of thin air emerged two girls, looking as similar to each other as two drops of water, who grabbed Yue's arms and pulled her away from Yui's body. Quicker than lightning, they took her to the sky, where Yue suffered her second shock when she tried to break free from their grasp. Although the girls were weaker than she was individually, their powers combined were more than enough to render Yue useless.

_"What are you doing? Let go!" _Yue shouted. _"Yui is... Yui is_..._" _Down upon the ground, the clothes of the Goddess of the Sun began to catch fire. Bit by bit, they fell apart, revealing the woman's blackened skin. _"No!" _Yue screamed in utmost horror and pain.

"Yui-sama will be alright, Tsukiyomi-sama," the girl on the left assured her.

"Calm down, Tsukiyomi-sama, the Lady is here," the one on the right said in a voice that was equally soft and sympathetic.

_"I do not know who your Lady is, and I do not care,"_ Yue cried at the top of her lungs, tears streaming down her cheeks. _"Please let me go, I have to save Yui. Please!" _

Out of the blue, the scenery around them changed. The green garden of the Himemiya Mansion The scenery around them changed. The luxuriant back garden of the Himemiya Mansion vanished and was immediately replaced by an endless field where roses seemingly made out of crystal covered the earth. On that same field, a woman in a white robe with long and wide sleeves and a hood that cloaked her face was walking toward the Goddess of the Sun. With every step she took, the roses in front of her parted to form a clear pathway and came back to where they were after she had passed. Once she had gotten near enough to Yui, the woman extended her right hand. Into her wide sleeve the burning flames retreated, leaving an unconscious and badly burnt Yui alone.

Then the woman pulled her hood backward as she looked up and smiled at Yue, her long raven hair falling all the way to her waist. "How have you been, Tsukiyomi?" she said.

_"M... Mother!"_ Yue said, her eyes going wide in incredulity. What was the Supreme Ruler of Reiha doing in Onogoro?


	8. Kannazuki Aoi

_**EPISODE SEVEN: KANNAZUKI AOI.**_

* * *

"Reiko? What are you doing here?" 

Oota Reiko looked up as she heard the Fourth Head's voice. In spite of herself and her knowledge of the latter's dressing habit, she stared. Korona, as always, wore revealing clothes barely more decent than a transparent sheet. Reiko understood that it was the trend of pop idols these days but whatever they did in those music videos and recording studios, should they not have a little more shame in public? If someone paid enough attention, they would see without much difficulty what kind of... delicate clothes the girl was wearing beneath.

Reiko shook her head slightly in frustration. She was willing to bet that Korona had caused several accidents just by _walking_ on the streets, especially if the girl had been swaying those hips of hers in front of the terrible drivers of Downtown the way she always did even when no one was watching. Had Korona not been an Orochi, someone would have molested her in some dark alley long since.

"I never thought I'd sense the presence of an Orochi in a Catholic churchyard, let alone one offering camellia flowers to a grave," the Fourth Head commented casually, seemingly oblivious of the indecency of her outfit. "Whose is it? Don't suppose it belongs to one of your victims."

"It is Natsune's," Reiko answered quietly and fixed her eyes back on the marble tombstone. "Today is the fifth anniversary of her passing." Her reply seemed to have hit the Fourth Head square between her eyes. Grimacing, the girl chewed on her lower lip, appearing ashamed and deathly embarrassed.

"I... didn't know that. I'm sorry, Reiko," Korona said after a while, voice strangely quiet.

"I do not mind, Fourth Head. It is not like you did that on purpose."

Korona walked in front of the grave and offered Natsune a solemn bow.

"Thank you, Fourth Head."

_"Oota Natsune, the only one I love, may you rest in peace within the embrace of the earth,"_ as though she did not hear what Reiko said, Korona read the words engraved on the tombstone, her eyes widening slightly when they set upon Natsune's name.

"Oota? Isn't that your last...?" Korona's voice trailed off upon meeting Reiko's sidelong glance. "Oh I see," she murmured afterwards. For some reason, that '_Oh I see_' carried within itself an emotion that Reiko could not name. As far back as she could remember, the pop idol never sounded this way around her. She only wondered what it meant.

"She was a Catholic?" Korona asked, her voice returning to normal.

"Yes." Reiko nodded curtly as she sensed her face hardening, her eyes blazing with anger, her blood coursing in her veins like rivers in a storm. Although Natsune knew that her love for Reiko put her at odds with the teaching of the Church, she remained fervently faithful to her God. She believed that as long as she lived a virtuous life, His Almighty would not mind if she happened to choose another woman for her love interest. Apparently, He thought otherwise. Her hands curled into fists as her transcending powers erupted in her soul.

"What's wrong, Reiko? You look so... scary," the Fourth Head hesitated and took one step backward, her youthful face painted in fright. She was right. Reiko always appeared murder walking as soon as she was reminded of the Church. And whenever that happened, the bravest people made excuses to leave and the weak-willed fool seemed as though they had soiled themselves.

"Do you know what churchgoers and their ministers did to Natsune when they found out the nature of our relationship, Fourth Head?" Reiko began, ignoring the winds roaring in her ears. "They, along with my beastly parents, murdered her. I thought something was strange the very moment Natsune came home that Sunday. Normally, she would look bright and cheerful despite the hardships we had to endure. That day, she was barely able to keep herself from crying. I asked her why but she only kept silent and staring blankly at the distance. She did not touch her food, she did not touch the magazines she liked, and every time she saw the Bible, she broke down crying into my arms.

"Panicking, I ran to the church Natsune went to once I had put her to sleep, trying to find out what was wrong. I did. Because they considered our love forbidden by their God, because they thought it was the teachings of the Devil, they denied Natsune the passage to the church. Worse, they never let her go before they finished scolding her just for loving me and told her that God despised her and would condemn her to Hell when she died. They even went as far as threatening to burn down our apartment should they see her _shadow_ outside their gates!"

Those despicable humans were partly responsible for Natsune's breakdown, one of the reasons that smothered the frail flame of life of Reiko's beloved. She loathed them! She despised them! The first thing Reiko had done upon being bestowed the Ice Blade from the Lord Orochi had been avenging Natsune's death. How she had laughed and cried at the same time watching each and every one of them stared at her in horror from within the ice pillars, their lives slowly being extinguished by the unbearable cold. Although she knew better than anyone that revenge could neither bring her beloved back to life nor quench her hatred toward the world, she could not stay her hand from slaying those so-called righteous humans. If she had known of a way to kill them over and over again, she would have. They deserved it!

_"Reiko!" _

The Fourth Head's yell jerked Reiko back to reality. Korona's arms were wrapped around her body, which was covered entirely by a thin layer of frost. Not just her, though. Everything on the ground, including the lawn and the flowers and the fountains nearby, were now frozen in ice. Every step Reiko made on the blades of grass would shatter them as surely as rock upon an egg. Then it struck her. Horrified, Reiko whipped her head to Natsune's grave. She only heaved a sigh of relief when she saw that the tombstone, along with the white camellia flowers she brought for her deceased lover, were miraculously untouched. It was all thanks to Korona. The Fourth Head had been standing before the grave this whole time, guarding it with the Barrier she wrought. However, the protection of Natsune's resting place came with at Korona's expenses. Since the pop idol's defensive powers were fairly weak, she ended up taking in all the cold pulsating from Reiko's body in her rage.

"Are you alright, Fourth Head? I am so sorry. I... lost control of myself." Guilt and pain stabbed at her heart.

"It's nothing, Reiko," Korona smiled shakily at her while she tried to get rid of the frost on her body. She appeared chilled to the bone. "It's only natural for you to be furious. I would be, too, if my lover..." She stopped abruptly, face going red. Gratitude for Korona washed over her in waves. Where the Fourth Head lacked in decency, she had more than enough consideration to compensate. Well, Korona had always been thoughtful and nice to Reiko ever since Reiko told the girl her life story. She could not understand why, however. Reiko had always put up a wall of separation between her and others, even to her comrades the Orochi but despite all that, Korona still managed to grow closer and closer to her. A strange girl, yet... a very kind one...

"Reiko? What are you...?" the Fourth Head stammered as Reiko took off her long black coat and draped it across the other girl's trembling shoulders.

"You will need something warm if you do not want to catch a cold, Fourth Head."

"Thank you," Korona looked away, her face crimson, her hot breath tinged by the frost.

Reiko frowned. The Orochi Fourth Head could not have developed a fever so quickly, now could she?

"It is I who need to say so."

"Uh, Reiko, if you don't mind me asking..." Korona hesitated. "Why do you leave Natsune in a place you hate so much?"

"Because Natsune wished it," Reiko answered in bitterness. "She always told me that when she died, she would like to be as close to her God as possible. Honestly, Fourth Head, I never like the idea but if it could help Natsune's soul rest in eternal peace, I am fine with it. It is the least I could do in exchange for her putting up with all the sadness and pain for my sake."

"Don't say that," Korona patted Reiko on her shoulder. "In having you, she is more fortunate than most of us out here, you know."

"I would not be so sure were I you," Reiko muttered. "You were not there when she suffered. You did not see how I turned her life into the pit of doom."

"Then tell me this, Reiko," Korona said suddenly. "Suppose the storm had not been cleared up by that strange light and you had had no powers as an Orochi, would you have risked everything and come to visit her grave?"

"Yes." Puzzled, Reiko stared at Korona.

"Suppose you can bring Natsune back but you are to be condemned in Hell's fire forever, would you go and take her place?"

"Yes," Reiko said. "And your point is?"

"See?" Korona looked up at her and smiled warmly. "It is any girl's dream to have someone love her the way you did. No matter how hard Natsune life was, she must have been very happy, I'm sure of it. I would be, too, if I were her. Because you know what, I would trade anything I ever own, my Orochi powers, the promise for eternal life, anything, for only a tiny bit of your love."

"It is easier said than done, Fourth Head." Reiko turned aside, heat gathering in her face. The girl said the most embarrassing things. "Foolish of you to believe me."

"I'm not," Korona said. "Like Natsune, I have good eyes for people, mangaka super-sensei."

Realizing that continuing like this would embarrass her to death, Reiko changed the topic, "In any case, Fourth Head, it is rare to see you up and about at this time of day. You are a night creature, are you not?"

"Oh, I am." Korona giggled. "I'm supposed to work the first shift today, you know, but that storm took quite a toll on our studio before it disappeared. Everything's a mess because of the flooding since last night and all. That's why I'm going to have a bit of time off, isn't it cool?"

"If you are so happy because you do not have to work, Fourth Head, why did you even bother taking up on being a pop idol in the first place?"

"Now that's where you're wrong," Korona argued in a cheerful tone. "Who says that if you love your work, you can't enjoy a little vacation?"

"You are a mystery sometimes," Reiko remarked quietly.

"I am?"

"You once asked me why I am an Orochi despite my wealth, my fame, did you not? Then why are you one, Fourth Head, while you seem to love to sing and have much appreciation for this world?"

The buoyant girl's face went pale. Reiko had unknowingly struck the girl's Achilles' heel, it would appear, the way Korona's eyes were suddenly filled with unspeakable agony, the way she dropped her gaze and studied the ground beneath her feet while her hands curled into tight fists at her sides. Reiko decided to drop it. She was not interested in knowing things people did not want her to, anyway. Besides, strange as it might sound, the Fourth Head was her friend now. Embarrassing one's friend was out of the question even for an Orochi... or for her at least. The Lord knew full well how some of his Followers didn't have an ounce of civility or common sense.

"Forgive me, Fourth Head, for being inconsiderate," Reiko apologized. "You need not answer my question."

"Reiko, I..."

"What have we here?" a girlish voice said. "Stuck-up girl got herself a date, a good-looking one at that. Isn't it _wonderful_?" A girl roughly Korona's age walked toward them, a hateful sneer curving her lips. On her neck hung a silver cross, which dangled violently every time she swayed her body in a miserable attempt to create a rhythm to her steps. The girl was a Catholic, which made this very incident a mere coincidence. It was somewhat a relief, for had she been tailing them all along, she would have witnessed Reiko's powers going wild. And that would mean Reiko had to finish her off, too, to protect the secret. She would hate it if she had to kill on Natsune's passing anniversary.

"Minakawa... Shizuho," Korona said, lips compressed in a thin line. Anger was evident on her face... yet on it, Reiko also spied embarrassment, anxiety, and fear. She blinked in surprise. An Orochi Follower who could annihilate a city with one swing of her Sword appearing afraid at the sight of a mere human? _What is going on here?_ she thought.

"Hey, onii-chan." Minakawa ignored the Fourth Head and came straight at Reiko. "Are you sure you want her for a girlfriend? You will regret it, you know."

_Onii-chan?_ Reiko suppressed a smile. The strange girl, Minakawa or whatever her name was, thought she was a man. Reiko would not blame her, though. It had not been the first time people made that mistake. Well, her choice of clothes had always been something that would come up in a guy's mind instead of a woman's. For one, she always preferred a pair of jeans and a T-shirt to a dress, however pretty or expensive. Her short hairstyle, her lack of body curves, her deep voice and her cold demeanor were quite misleading, too. If anything, they only increased the boyishness of her appearance.

"And how does that concern you?" Reiko said coolly.

"Sure it does," Minakawa's pretentious laughter grated in her ears. For inexplicable reasons, Reiko found herself hating the girl more and more. Was it because her personality was much more hideous and repulsive than that of a snake? Or was it because... Minakawa was making the Fourth Head uncomfortable? Reiko shook her head slightly, what was she thinking? "Don't you think you and I would look perfect together?"

"What gives you such a notion?" Reiko should have taken Korona out of this place and left the girl behind, she realized. The Fourth Head would like it, she was certain, for the pop idol's eyes were begging Reiko to do exactly that. Still, she had a feeling she would like to teach Minakawa a lesson for messing with the Orochi Heads. The girl should consider herself fortunate that today was Natsune's anniversary. On any other day, Reiko would have already taken her head.

"Oh, _come_ _on_," Minakawa insinuated. "You seriously think a girl with a morbid fear of men would give you what you _really_ want? You're better off with me, I'm sure."

"Fear... of men?" Reiko looked at Korona quizzically. The Fourth Head avoided her gaze.

"Oh, she didn't tell you?" Minakawa said in feigned surprise, her eyes flashing gleefully and maliciously. If only she was aware of the thoughts running through Reiko's mind, she would wish that she had jumped into some river and drowned herself to death. "Well, that makes perfect sense. After all, what kind of girl would say how she had come to despise men after being violated by her last boss? And I guess you wouldn't happen to know what she did to the last guy who tried to get his hands on her, would you? Poor guy, your pathetic girl practically pushed him down the stairs. Too bad the police said it was self-defense, or she'd have been in jail by now."

An icy wind blew in Reiko's soul. What Minakawa said was the truth. Reiko could sense it within the vile girl's mind. Now she got the picture. That was the very reason that brought Korona into the Orochi's fold and fueled her desire for vengeance. That was why the Fourth Head never came closer than two steps to the male Followers and always spaced herself at the furthest corner of the room from latter whenever she came to the audience with the Orochi Lord. Like Reiko herself, Korona had been given indelible scars by this cruel world. And she was suffering because of them. There Korona stood, gathering her arms about herself, tears silently dropped from her face. The icy wind exploded into a raging snowstorm.

"So?" Reiko said quietly. The air around them began to cool down despite the warm light from the sun on high.

"Oh please, don't play coy, onii-chan." Minakawa snickered. "Look at me. I'm better than that girl in every aspect. And she's not going to let you touch her anyway, so why don't you dump her and come with me to some place we can, say, _relax_?"

"You are not worth my time. Besides, I find your very existence offensive."

"Hey! Don't you know who I am, you ignorant lout?" Minakawa snapped, her hateful face darkening in anger.

"Minakawa Shizuho, age twenty-three, from the Isshin Group, debuted three years ago but _is_ still unknown to the majority of the public." Every word Reiko said decreased the temperature by a few degrees. While Korona was okay thanks to the coat, Minakawa enjoyed no such comfort. She shivered nonstop as her hands ran up and down her arms every few seconds. "Your newest single is ranked eighty-fifth in the top one hundred list. You are currently engaging in an affair with Hashitomo Shunshou, age fifty-two, director of the Isshin Group, despite the difference in age and the fact that he had a young spouse waiting at his beck and call already. Did I cover everything?" Orochi's mind-reading power sure was convenient.

Minakawa's real goal in her attempt to snatch Reiko away from Korona was clear. The girl was jealous of the Fourth Head higher status in the board so she did everything in her power to make the Fourth Head's life as miserable as possible. _Filthy human_

"Where... do you get... that information?" Minakawa's eyebrows climbed off her scalp while her already pale skin grew even paler from the glacial winds that came at Reiko's summons. The girl seemed to want to leave, too, but Reiko bet her legs were not quite obedient to their master's wish. They could not be, really, for once she had cast her transfixing gaze on any creature, only those with power higher than hers stood a chance of breaking free. For Minakawa, a girl who possessed as much magical power as a rock, it was well nigh impossible.

"So, do tell, dear eighty-fifth, how have you the nerve to say that you are better than my _girlfriend?_" Reiko slipped her arm around Korona's slim waist and pulled her closer.

Although the pop idol was first stunned by the unexpected turn of events, she adapted to the situation fairly quickly. Pulling the black coat that was put on her earlier together at the front with one hand, the girl rest her head gently upon Reiko's shoulder. Korona did have talents for acting, she deserved some credits for that. The way she squeezed her vacant hand affectionately around Reiko's own, the way she looked up at Reiko with the gentlest expression ever, the way she shyly cast down her eyes when their gazes met was so real, so loving that Reiko's heart, shielded by eternal ice, skipped a beat. At the same time, however, bitterness soured her stomach. When Natsune was still alive, she used to look at Reiko the same way.

"You... she..." Minakawa's jaw dropped in the most satisfactory manner. She would not be so sure about Korona's fear of men after this.

"I suggest you leave before you lose more of your dignity, if you have any left," Reiko said coldly and lifted her inhibition on the girl's movement.

"I won't forget this!" With that, Minakawa withdrew in a hurry. She fell a few times, though, before she blended into the distance and vanished.

"You're awesome, Reiko!" Korona exclaimed after Reiko let go of her. "You looked that deep into her mind? The best I can do is listening to her thoughts! That girl is a pretty hard nut to crack, you know..."

"More importantly, Fourth Head," Reiko broke in firmly. "Why do you let the brat live? She insulted you, she held your secrets, and she _is_ dangerous. Are you that much of an idiot not to see? Any self-respecting villain would have the little nuisance taken care of by now! I cannot believe..."

Reiko closed her mouth. She wanted to say more, to talk some sense into this disgrace of an Orochi Follower but when she saw Korona actually look hurt by her sharp words, she could not continue. Sighing deeply, Reiko massaged her forehead and tried to calm herself down. It was not like her at all to get mad over something so trivial. No, it was absolutely unlike her. Normally, she could not care less about other people's personal businesses – her comrades did not call her _"Reiko the heartless" _just for fun – so it made no sense as to why she got so worked up over Korona's pest problem.

"I would tell you why, but you're going to yell at me for sure," Korona said.

"I give you my word that I will not, now tell me."

"I... don't... like to kill," Korona muttered.

Reiko found her eyes trying to bulge out of their sockets. An Orochi who... disliked killing? Were any of the other Followers in her place right now, they would laugh their heads off!

"Are you... angry?"

"No, I was just surprised when I should not be." Reiko sighed. She did not really whether she should laugh or cry in a situation like this. "I should have seen this coming. For pity's sake, you were mad at me for one whole day only because I killed a character in my manga!"

Recently, Korona had been making trips to Reiko's room, which was considered a forbidden territory by the rest of her comrades. Sometimes, the girl came to invite Reiko to tea, sometimes to peek in to have Reiko tell her what was going on in her newest work. For the latter, Korona usually stayed as long as she could, apparently for no purposes even after she had known whatever there was to know. On a chair next to Reiko's drawing table the Fourth Head sat, gazing at the images on the papers. However, once in a while, Reiko had the feeling they were not the sole focus of Korona's attention. There were moments when Reiko looked at the other girl out of the corners of her eyes and found her watching Reiko intently with a face she could not read. Still, however uneasy Korona made Reiko feel once in a while, her presence in Reiko's life was by no means... unwanted.

"For your information, Reiko, it's not my fault I can't stand the sight of people dying!"

"Then why in the Lord's name did you join the Orochi? Do you not know killing _is_ a part of the deal?" Reiko said quietly.

"It's not like a Head has any choice, you know," Korona insisted. "Besides, that's not what the Lord said. He promised me that I just have to stand by his side and he would build me a better world to live in."

Reiko frowned. The Lord said so now did he? This actually was one of her few concerns about the true meaning of being an Orochi Head. The Lord did not require them to do anything for his sake, nor did he tell them to eliminate the Summoners of his nemesis, the _Priestesses of Kannazuki_. They were merely told to do what _they_ needed to, what _they_ wished until the promised day came, when life everlasting would be granted as a reward to each and every one of the Heads. Then why did the Lord need them in the first place if not to do his biddings? What were their purposes in this conflict between the Dark God and the pitiful mortals? And are the mortals the true objective of the Lord's agenda? Despite having spent a better part of her time trying to reason things out, her efforts were all in vain. And she did not dare tell any other Followers. She did not believe the Lord would be pleased about her speculations and cynical nature should the words get to his ears.

"Forget it, Korona, it is fine so long as you know what you are doing," Reiko muttered afterwards. "And what are you staring at me for?" Reiko quirked an eyebrow at the Fourth Head, who was making that unreadable face again.

"'Coz..." Korona said, smiling sweetly all of a sudden. "It's the first time you called my name."

Reiko stared at Korona with all the incredulity she could muster. She said the Fourth Head's name by mistake after a moment of exasperation, so what? Why did the girl have to...?

Before her mind could finish the question, the answer hit Reiko square in the face. Every piece of the puzzle clicked together to form a complete picture. She was an idiot to have not noticed until now. Korona's irregular behaviors, the pop idol's strange facial expressions and attitude toward Reiko, the younger woman's trips to her room despite the distance between their rooms, which spanned from one side of the Temple of the Dragons to the other, they were all of them screaming that Korona had fallen in love with someone. Worse, that someone was Reiko.

She did not like this, the situation turning so complicated, and awkward also. Knowing the truth put her in a very tight spot, so to speak. Difficult as it was for Reiko to admit, she liked Korona to a certain extent. True, there were moments Reiko would sit behind the drawing board and find herself chuckling at Korona's silly suggestions for her manga. There were times she accidentally wrote down the other girl's name instead of that of her character, not to count the fact that having Korona mad at her a little while ago irritated Reiko no end but... but...

_But what?_ a tiny voice said at the back of her head. Reiko's heart took a deep dive into her stomach. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that Korona had taken so special a place in her heart that saying Korona was a mere friend would be a preposterous lie. But still, loving Korona back was something Reiko could not, and would not do, because...

"Reiko? What's the matter?" Korona looked at her with so much concern it hurt. "You don't look well."

"Koro... Fourth Head, I..."

A formidably strong and alien presence suddenly hovered in her mind, informing her that someone was coming toward them. Quickly, Reiko positioned herself in front of Korona. The Fourth Head's power was only a fraction above that of Nekoko, the weakest of all Orochi, so she would not stand a chance. Reiko doubted she herself could, either, as a quick assessment of the arriving foe's strength made her very own seem feeble in comparison. That was why she had to take Korona out of here quickly or the girl might just end up being dead meat. Yet... before she could open a Dimensional Portal to escape, she froze dead in her track. She had just come to the realization that in the face of danger, she did not even once worry for her own safety. The thought that dominated her mind... was the concern for the well-being of the Fourth Head. _How did it come to this? _she asked herself bitterly.

Reiko did not have time to answer that question, it turned out, for a dark shadow had materialized out of nowhere in front of them and cut off her train of thoughts. Almost instinctively, Reiko lashed out with her powers before she could see who it was. Hesitation meant death, she had learned.

Ice daggers made out of water in the air flew toward the enemy in waves. However, hundreds of black lances leapt up from the target's shadow and shattered all the ice daggers in less than a heartbeat. _Power of the Shadows!_ Reiko thought. _The Eighth Head!_

"Are you trying to kill me, Fifth Head?" Saotome Makoto said angrily as she stepped toward them, her youthful face a thunderhead. With a cloak black as the night wrapped around her slender frame, she looked like death walking. Except that it was not _"looked like"_. With her potential higher than that of any other Orochi, including the First Head himself, Saotome Makoto _was_ death.

Reiko heaved a sigh of relief and lowered her guard.

"No, she didn't mean to, Eighth Head," Korona explained hurriedly as color returned to her bloodless face. "We didn't know it was you."

"Didn't _know_? I even _unveiled_ my powers so that you would receive a warning for my arrival. Can't you sense that an Orochi was coming...?" The brown-haired girl stopped abruptly as though she had bitten on her tongue. "My bad, I guess you can't," she said with a rueful tone afterwards. The girl had forgotten how she differed from the rest of the Orochi, it would seem. "I'm sorry."

"Never mind that, Eighth Head." Reiko waved off the apology. "What business do you have with us?" Did the young girl just say _unveiled_? Did that mean the Eighth Head was able to shield her presence from Reiko and Korona and could have snuck up on them unnoticed? Now that was scary to even think of. If for some reason the girl switched to the side of the Priestesses, which was not exactly improbable considering what kind of relationship the former shared with the Priestess of the Sun, the other Followers were as good as dead. Perhaps Reiko should keep an eye on Makoto just in case.

"It's an order from the Lord," Makoto announced. "An urgent one. We will first meet with the Sixth Head and carry out our mission, which is to capture the Seventh Head without fail. _'It is time the traitor met with his fate,'_ was the Lord's words, exact."

"You mean all _four_ of us? Just for one single Head?" Reiko said in utmost incredulity. Well, the Seventh Head did defeat the First and stirred up the Followers in a frenzy, but Tsubasa's little _brother complex _was the reason the man lost to a weaker opponent. It did not make sense at all to have four Followers ganging up on one Oogami Souma while the Eighth Head herself could destroy him completely with but a snap of her fingers.

"Actually, taking care of Oogami is _your_ job. Mine is dealing with his companion, Hime... I mean the Priestess of the Sun."

"I see," Reiko muttered noncommittally, not really seeing. She took a quick glance at the Fourth Head afterwards, though. The girl was surreptitiously studying her as if she never had a care about the Lord's order. Reiko sighed. Although Korona's issue still weighed on her mind, she could not possibly do anything about it now. Later, then.

* * *

"You said something, Himeko?" shouted Oogami Souma, whose voice was muffled by his helmet and the winds that were roaring around him. Riding on his motorcycle along the highway, he was finding himself slightly light-headed as he felt the tender arms of the girl he loved wrapping around his body, her soft and curvaceous front pressing against his back. Ever since she climbed on the bike, he had been dumped into the middle of a fierce struggle between overwhelming bliss and fear. There could be nothing more gratifying to him than having the love of his life so close to him... yet he knew the danger. With his concentration constantly trying to slip away from him, he ran the risk of crashing the motorcycle somewhere along the metal rails guarding both sides of the highway. He certainly didn't want something like that to happen on a date. 

"Can we stop around here, on the beach?" the golden-haired girl shouted back, her words faltering in the howling of the winds.

He was surprised. According to the plan, which she herself had proposed to him a few days ago, their destination for today was supposed to be the new theme park in Downtown, which had attracted a huge number of visitors despite having opened for barely more than a week. Why did she want to stop by the beach all of a sudden?

"Sure," he replied and gently swerved his bike toward the right. As the motorcycle slowed down on the serpentine highway exit, which was still wet from the storm that threatened to plague the city and drown the coastal areas for days, the winds grew gentler and began to sing along with the birds perching on the green trees flanking the road. The air was only cool, yet for some reason, he felt Himeko trembling slightly against his back.

"Thank you... and sorry, Sou-chan," she murmured in a voice tinged with agony and regret. Puzzled, Souma frowned at the emerging sight of the sand beach and the sparkling ocean that lay beyond it, trying to figure out why his princess sounded that way. He was certain that she wasn't apologizing to him for having wanted to change their destination. What, then?

About five minutes later, they stood atop the wet sand and quietly studied the ocean's wavy surface, which glittered brilliantly under the assault of the myriad rays of sunlight descending from a completely _cloudless_ sky. No one would believe him were he to tell them that just an hour or ago, the heavens had been shrouded by a layer of storm clouds so thick that it would have taken them days to disperse. They would call him crazy, too, were he to say that Mahoroba would have seen the heaviest and most terrible rain in her history had a silver aura not blown away the storm clouds as cleanly and quickly as a gust of wind would the fallen leaves. He shivered. He knew where that silver light had come from, and the very knowledge scared him somewhat.

Who could have believed that Himemiya Chikane, a rich ojou-sama whom he thought too weak to even defend herself, was capable of such a feat? Sure, Souma could manage it, also, but if anybody told him that he had to clear the clouded skies above the city in the same amount of time or with the same contemptuous ease, he would admit that it wasn't bloody likely to happen. Furthermore, such a feat would have left him so drained and weakened that he doubted he could even hold himself erect for the next several days. And _that_ was the scary part. Although she had projected an impossibly huge amount of powers into the heavens, her energy level didn't seem to decrease at all. Even at this moment, somewhere out there, her presence still shone like noonday in his Orochi mind when it should have dimmed to the light of a candle.

Souma turned to Himeko and grimaced. Not at her, but at the storm of invisible aura wreathing about her slender body. He was fairly certain that it was what was left behind upon Himeko after the former played God with the sky. Yes, it was but a mere _residue_, yet it had completely blocked out his Orochi sixth sense and rendered him unable to feel what the golden-haired girl was harboring in her heart. He didn't think the rich girl was helpless anymore. Not when he knew that should she choose to beat him into submission, she could do so without breaking a drop of sweat. He had as much chance to win against her, or maybe even to escape, as a grape against the winepress.

He only wondered whether Raien, powerful as its True Form might be, could make a difference if a day were to come where he had to fight the Priestess of the Moon.

Giving his head a light shake, he told himself that he was just being foolish. He fought against the Dark God now, which placed him on the same side as the Kannazuki Priestesses. There was no chance in hell that Himemiya Chikane would become his enemy, not when he was putting his life on the line to protect the girl he loved, the very same girl that _she_ loved.

"Himeko?" he called. From the moment she arrived at the beach, the golden-haired girl had not said one word as she looked at the sparkling waves coming toward the land from the horizon.

"Yes?" She said, turning to face him. He almost wished that she had not. Her face was troubled, her mouth tight, and her eyes filled with sadness. He felt a shiver slither down his spine. He sensed that whatever she was going to say to him today, it wasn't going to be something he wanted to hear.

"Is there..." he swallowed audibly, "something on your mind?"

She nodded, and the sadness in her beautiful amethyst eyes seemed to have grown twice as much. Souma's heart sank. Perhaps he knew why she wanted to go out with him today. Three days ago he had confessed his love in front of her, Tsubasa-nii-san, and Himemiya Chikane. She hadn't given her answer then. He wagered that she was about to right now. And judging by the way she was gazing at him... A lump of something rose in his throat.

Silence stretched between them for so long – it might have been a couple of minutes, but there was no way he could tell – that when she finally spoke, she startled him. "I have a girl friend, Sou-chan," she said, "and she's in a pinch right now." Souma didn't have to be able to read minds to know that the girl of his dream wasn't speaking about any friend in particular. His insides turned to ice.

"My friend has a childhood friend, a boy she deeply cherishes. One day, he confessed to her. She knows that should she choose him, he'd love her and care for her for the rest of her life... but she can't. She's in love with someone else. That's why she's feeling very guilty right now. She knows she has to reject her childhood friend, as she can't give her heart to anyone except the one she truly loves, yet at the same time, the truth will hurt him badly. Do you think the boy would understand and continue to be her friend if she told him, Sou-chan?"

Souma's hands curled into fists at his sides while every of his particles seemed to be ringing out in agony. Himeko's message was clear, however indirect. She didn't want to tell him flat out that she couldn't accept his feeling, so she staged a story of some imaginary friend instead. Since she was a kid, she had been acting in such a way. The shy and easily intimidated Himeko never wanted to say anything to hurt other people, so she always employed this method to speak her mind. He wagered that she was trying to give him a way out without hurting his pride and feeling, too. Were he to acknowledge her intention, she would pretend that he never confessed to her and continue to be his friend. Were he not to...

He felt stupid. The only reason why he confessed was because he wanted her to know that she had _options_, and that Himemiya Chikane wasn't the only one who cared about her. He had hoped that in time, she would realize that there was nothing good that could come from a relationship with another girl, and that he was the only correct choice she could make. He didn't mean to press her for an answer. Neither did he try to force her to return his feelings. Yet, it turned out that his plan had backfired. The only thing that he managed to do was make her panic. Gods, but he wished he didn't say a word to the Orochi First Head.

"What do you think, Sou-chan?" Himeko asked again, her worried amethyst eyes riveted on him.

"I don't think her childhood friend is a bad choice," he replied. "He loves her more than anything in the world. She knows that."

"You believe that such a one-sided relationship will yield a good outcome, then?" she said, her voice leaving no false impression that she thought otherwise.

"I won't say it's one-sided," he argued. "She likes the guy, doesn't she? It only takes a little bit of time and effort for that feeling to grow into love. Then they can have their _'Happy Ever After' _ending."

"That would be impossible for her." Himeko shook her magnificent head as her right hand seemed to be turning the ruby ring on her left unconsciously. Souma blinked. He just noticed for the first time that there was a thin thread made entirely of glowing red light that had one of its end tied around Himeko's little finger. And it other end... appeared to have come out of thin air! He blinked again, and it was gone. What in the Gods' name was the thing? "She is already helplessly in love with another person. She doesn't think that she can live through a day in which she can't see that person's face, much less her life. She won't last long if she chooses her childhood friend, Sou-chan."

"But she can't choose that person now can she?" Souma muttered impatiently.

"She can't?" Himeko looked at him, perplexed. "Why?"

Unable to contain his frustration anymore, he blurted out what he was thinking, "Because you are _both_ girls! You can't have Himemiya, nor she you, and you know it!"

Deafening silence followed as the golden-haired girl stared at him as though she just noticed that he was there for the first time. Then spots of color bloomed in her face. Souma felt his jaw dropping. Although she was blushing, she looked more _relieved_ than embarrassed. She seemed as if a rock boulder had been lifted off her shoulders. She even _smiled_.

"So you know," she said softly, if a touch apologetically. Her face was still very red. "I'm glad. I didn't really know how to break it to you, you see." She meant that she didn't know of any other way to tell him that she was willing to choose a girl over him without delivering a devastating blow to his pride.

"I'm not blind, or deaf, Himeko," Souma said in bitterness.

"I'm sorry, Sou-chan," she said, amethyst eyes downcast, voice overflowed with guilt. "I... can't help myself. Before I knew it, I was already head over heels in love with her. That's why I can't accept your feelings. I'm sorry." She did sound as though she meant what she said. Not that it managed to make him feel better, anyway. His exasperation and frustration were still burning him inside out.

"It's just a young girl's childish crush, Himeko," Souma said stubbornly. "You merely look up to her as your idol, that's all. Don't mistake your admiration for love."

"That's not true." The golden-haired girl shook her head slowly, but firmly, he noticed. "If I only have admiration for Chikane-chan, I won't have to go through every day missing her even when I _am_ with her. Looking up to Chikane-chan can't make me want to touch her, feel her, hold her, and kiss her every time I see her. And a childish crush wouldn't have tormented me over the thought that she might not love me in return."

Souma almost swallowed his own tongue. Still, he decided to fight this battle until the very end. There was too much at stake for him to give up the way Himeko had wanted him to. He could not, and would not. "So what, Himeko? You love her, so what?" he said. "That doesn't mean your... relationship is acceptable!"

"To whom?" Himeko asked, her amethyst eyes appearing to catch the light of the sun and intensify it. There was no confusion or hesitation in those beautiful eyes.

"To the rest of the world," he answered almost heatedly. "You know full well that you'll turn the society against you by committing... such an act!" If Himeko was offended, she didn't show it. In fact, she seemed to have taken it as calmly as sunshine.

"I... don't think I care, Sou-chan," she said.

Souma gaped at her.

"You know ne, I've always thought it very sad that many people who consider the ideals of the majority as standards to live by," she explained. "There's so much more to life than living simply to please those around us, don't you think?" Although she gave him a smile afterwards to tell him that she didn't include him among those she thought as _sad_, the gleam of guilt in her eyes told him a different story. He grimaced.

"You have to be aware of what's going to happen to you if you insist on being _different_, Himeko," he insisted. "Remember the manga you read."

"It doesn't matter, Sou-chan." Her smile didn't waver for a heartbeat. "Personally, I think that there's no happiness greater than to love and be loved in return. For that, I'm willing to take any risk." Her face colored once more, and her eyes fell to the ruby ring on her finger, which she seemed to be caressing with her gaze. The stone was glowing brilliantly under the glorious light of the morning sun. Memories, which he had been trying murderously to suppress, flashed in his mind as bitterness made his stomach lurch. He knew the person who had given Himeko the ring, and the knowledge was a full-arm slap on his cheek.

He opened his mouth, attempting to disabuse Himeko of her naïve thoughts, and closed it with a snap as he heard for the first time what she had told him. _To be loved in return, _she had said. His jaw fell.

"Himemiya told you, didn't she?" he said almost to himself, sensing his heart pounding painfully in his chest.

Himeko gave a start, her eyes going wide. "How did you know?"

"So she did," he muttered angrily.

Himeko didn't say anything in response. The golden-haired girl only took up a study of her feet, her face the very picture of a sunset. The sight made his blood boil. _So that was why she summoned me to her house and told me to take Himeko out as planned, _he thought.Gods, but he should have realized it from the very beginning. The rich girl only allowed him to go on a date with the little princess because she knew the latter was going to reject him.

Suddenly, the scenery around them took a drastic change and doused the rage that was burning Souma inside out. The bottomless blue of the water and the brilliant azure of the sky faded into a dull gray color as though he had just been thrown into an ancient black and white movie. To make the matter worse, his Orochi sense was warning him that three Followers were drawing dangerously near. "Why do you have to pick a fight with me now?" he muttered under his breath. Not that he would mind taking on all three Heads at the same time – he was confident that Raien's might would help him destroy his foes the way it defeated the Orochi First Head – but Himeko's very presence here put him into a very tough spot. He couldn't possibly fight them and keep the golden-haired girl safe at the same time. Retreating seemed the only logical answer.

"Let's go, Himeko, this place's..." Souma's tongue froze when he turned toward the little princess.

The golden-haired girl was nowhere to be seen. In her place on the beach now stood a complete stranger whose body was clad in a cape black as the night. It couldn't have been a man, Souma was sure, for her slender build and her curvaceous front unmistakably belonged to a woman. However, there was also no way to verify it, for beneath that deep hood swirled a shadow that covered all but her eyes. What made the matter more serious and disturbing was the absence of Himeko's presence in his Orochi mind. Souma could no longer trace her energy source, which should have remained even if she had been teleported to the other side of the world.

Terribly worried about the golden-haired girl's well-being as he was, Souma still didn't dare take his eyes off of the stranger. Distraction could do more than kill when done at the wrong time, he had been taught. The advice from the High Priest could not be truer, especially in this situation, where someone had actually succeeded in sneaking up on him without his notice. A shiver ran down Souma's spine. Neither did he have any clue as to when this girl showed up nor did he have any idea how she did it. There was one thing he knew, though. To be able to pull off such a stunt, the girl had to be exceptionally powerful.

Souma decided to learn how much.

Soundlessly, he extended his soul to hers so that he could measure the depth of her powers. As far as he was concerned, it was the wrong move. Panic took over and put an end to his rational thoughts.

Souma leapt backward and never stopped until he had put at least a dozen feet between them. Sweat poured out from his pores as though he had just taken a bath. _Gods, but it was close! _he thought. The second his soul touched that of the other girl, Souma had felt as if he was being sucked into a black hole. He suspected that had he not reacted fast enough, his consciousness would have been done for. Anger flared up fiercely in him at the thought. That was one nasty way of greeting someone she just met. Souma summoned Raien into his hand and pointed its tips at the stranger. If she wanted to be his enemy, so be it.

"I've had enough surprises for one day, girl," Souma said roughly. "Tell me who you are."

"My business doesn't concern you today, Seventh Head," the girl answered with a strange voice that sounded neither like a man's nor a woman's. "I came for the Priestess alone. You would do well to stay out of my way."

_"And what have you done to her? Where is she?"_ Souma shouted as he unleashed Raien's power. Purple lightning swirled and crackled loudly around the shiny blade. If she weren't going to tell him, he would force her to, by any means necessary. He had very little patience left.

"You think too highly of yourself too frequently," the Follower said, her voice heavy with contempt. There wasn't even the slightest sign of fear in it. "You'll learn to behave better, Seventh Head." Her right hand flashed and her forefinger landed on Raien's blade after being released from her thumb. Despite the fact that the sword gave no vibration after the impact, an unbelievably powerful force traveled through the thing and arrived at Souma's hand, which ultimately unwrapped his fingers off Raien's hilt and sent them flying.

Not letting the shock faze him, Souma reacted immediately. He grabbed back Raien with his left hand before the sword could fall to the ground and slashed at the Orochi girl. The second shock came. Although his left hand might not be as nimble and fast as his right, his rigorous training schedule had allowed him to shrink the difference as much as it could. Yet, it didn't seem to have mattered much the way the Orochi girl evaded his swing with but a turn of her slender body. Before he could strike again, though, she drew a sword the blade of which was as black as the cloak she wore seemingly out of thin air.

"You annoy me, Oogami Souma," she said coldly. "Get lost."

The girl pointed her sword at the sky. From below, from their shadows, a black column emerged, throwing itself at Souma's stomach. Hastily, he swung Raien around to block the thing. Although he was in time, he still couldn't resist being hurled away until he was at least five hundred feet off the shore, where the black column withdrew and left him suspended between the gray sea beneath and the lifeless heavens above. Fear roamed his mind. Not even Tsubasa-nii-san had the power to do this to him. How the heck could this girl be so strong?

"I would wish you luck, Seventh Head, but you'll need more than that if you want to survive today," the girl's voice resounded in the air like thunder. "I don't even think you can die in one piece."

Walls of shadow descended from the cloudy sky as she spoke, slamming their feet onto the water and shutting Souma off from all sides. Those things covered so vast an area so swiftly that even had Souma wanted to get out, he wouldn't have been quick enough.

_You little... _Souma thought angrily as he tapped into Raien's powers and brought the lightning upon the dark walls. His efforts were in vain, as far as he could see, for the walls absorbed his lightning as vigorously as a sponge would water. _Tasogare!_he thought, startled. After the fight with Tsubasa-nii-san, Souma had spent a good amount of time learning about the Elemental Blades from the Shingetsu High Priest, which earned him the knowledge that there was only one thing that rivaled the terrible Hokuto his blood brother wielded. Tasogare the Twilight Blade. Never once did he expect to be confronted with it so quickly. It would seem that today there was nothing life had in store for him except bad luck.

Souma's head rang in alarm.

The three Orochi presence he sensed a little while ago had arrived, right inside this prison the girl made. Cold winds almost as sharp as knives came at him from every direction, trying to slice him into bits. Below him, the seawater had been completely frozen, waves caught in the middle of crashing down upon the surface. Somewhere to his left, from a crack in the ice, a gigantic tree grew up so rapidly that it now towered hundreds of feet over where it once was moments ago.

Light blazed, blue, green and brown, heralding the arrival of three Followers. They were all women, although one of them looked more like a pretty boy. That boyish Orochi, in simple shirt and pants and black coat, stood on the tip of a frozen wave, her hand clutching the hilt of a sword the thin blade of which seemed as fragile as the pair of glasses she wore. Another Follower in green dress and blouse suspended in midair. She he knew and couldn't possibly forget, for when he saw her a while ago, Arashigumo the Wind Blade in her hand nearly killed the Sun Priestess. This time, she would not escape with a mere scratch again, he'd make sure of it. And the last of the three, a scandalously dressed young woman, was sitting on one of the large tree's branches, her emerald eyes shining with _fear_ and _hatred_. He blinked in surprise. Hatred he could understand, but fear?

Souma shook his head and decided to focus his attention on the situation instead. Then he smiled. Despite the... unfortunate outcome with his quest to win over Himeko's love, this could prove to be a fruitful day. Now that three of the stolen Sealed Swords – Arashigumo the Wind Blade, Asayuki the Ice Blade and Chiseizaha the Earth Blade – were all here, Souma could retrieve them and dispose of the Orochi Followers at the same time. His smile broadened while his hand tightened around Raien's hilt. Without three out of seven Blades as well as the same number of his acolytes, the Dark God was as good as crippled.

"I cannot comprehend your confidence, Seventh Head," the oldest member of the three, who wielded Arashigumo, commented with a smile of her own. "Oh, could it be that you are counting on Raien's Voice of Sorrow to suppress us?"

"Exactly," Souma answered. "If you know what's good for you, surrender at once before things get ugly."

"Come now, you can't be seriously thinking that we would come here while knowing we were going to lose?" The woman laughed. "Have you not realized _why_ and _how_ the Eighth Head put you in here in the first place?"

The Eighth Head? _Was she referring to the girl with the Twilight Blade?_ Souma thought. His stomach lurched slightly. Come to think of it, he never noticed how she could manage to use her powers when Raien had already been summoned. Could it be... that there was another Elemental Blade that the Voice of Sorrow had no effect on like Hokuto? Furthermore, did the three Orochi Followers not change the surrounding environment when they appeared? Wasn't he still holding Raien the whole time? Did that not mean their powers were intact, too? A horrible thought hovered over his mind as sweat streamed all over his palms. Should that be the case, then probably this shadow prison would act like some sort of a...

"From your reactions, I believe you have figured it out that we are all inside a giant Seal." The Orochi woman smiled. "One that completely nullifies your Raien's gift. Say, has the High Priest not told you that the Tasogare possessed absolute dominance over Seals and Barriers, the very reason it could lock away the Voice?"

Kazuki-nii-san never did. Souma did not think the High Priest would hide things from him, especially ones that concerned life and death, though, so the man had to be unaware.

"You talk too much, Sixth Head." The glare the bespectacled young woman just threw at the wielder of the Wind Blade was as sharp as any knife. He was certain that it could have skin any other man where he stood. "Why don't we get it over with right here and now? I have better things to do than listen to your yapping."

"Hasty, hasty, Fifth Head," the Sixth Head of the Orochi said. "He is going to be killed anyway, so why not give him some information so that he would not die an ignorant lout?"

"So you say, Nekoko." The youngest of the three laughed softly. "But you do like taunting your enemy, don't you?"

"Well, Fourth Head, that is part of the reason, too." Nekoko, Souma was sure that was her name, shared the laughter with her companion, sounding deeply amused. "What can I do when my nature demands me to take the most pleasure out of a fight?"

"I said quit it! And that means you, too, Fourth Head!" The Fifth Head scowled at both of them. "Stop giving her a chance to flap her tongue!"

"Sure, Reiko," the Fourth Head replied with a sweet smile, obviously unaffected by the other woman's heated words. A strange sense of déjà vu hit him. Wasn't that exactly the same smile he had seen on Himeko's lips earlier? _Don't tell me... _he thought.

"You are in an unusually foul mood today, Fifth Head." Nekoko eyed the bespectacled woman curiously. "I wonder what has possessed you." At the end of that sentence, she suddenly shot an _I-know-all-about-it_ glance toward the Fourth Head, the corners of her mouth quirking upward into an almost smile.

"I am merely annoyed by the fact that the Eighth Head refused to Seal Raien completely and make our job easier, that is all." The Fifth Head frowned sullenly. "Could she not spare a little more of her precious energy?"

"She could not, Fifth Head," Nekoko said in a lecturing voice. "She needs every last bit of it for her mission. I thought I told you so already."

"I... forgot." The Fifth Head looked away.

"Now do you really?"

Souma couldn't wait anymore. While he was here listening to the Orochi bickering themselves, Himeko was alone out there with perhaps the most dangerous of them all. He had to finish them quick and come to her aid. He then let Raien draw more and more energy from his body, his heart, and soul. Although it was dangerous to loosen his grip on the Sealed Sword, he knew that unless he took some risk today, he might not leave here in one piece, if any. Purple lightning jagged madly from the Lightning Blade. _Wait for me, Himeko, _he thought, almost a prayer, before he lunged at his foes.

* * *

Peering at the dimensional prison that she herself had built to keep in Oogami Souma and the other Heads, Saotome Makoto wondered how long it would take the latter to finish the former. True, he were one and they were three, yet she couldn't deny that one of those three was a girl who detested killing, one was so weak she didn't even deserve to be called an Orochi, and one was apparently too occupied with her own thoughts that she could barely register what was happening around her. On the other hand, Oogami Souma was very strong, a little bit stronger than Oota Reiko herself, Makoto would say, so this might just become an even fight despite the fact that three adults were ganging up on one teenaged boy. 

_It doesn't matter much in the end, _Makoto thought. Even if Oogami could somehow emerge victorious, he still would be trapped within Tasogare's prison. One that she could shrink to _nothingness_ anytime she felt like it. The traitor was but a filthy rat caught in a trap. His fate was already decided, and there was nothing he could do to escape his demise.

Letting the Twilight Blade in her hand faded back into thin air, Makoto carefully made sure that the shadow hiding the lower part of her face and the little spell she used to disguise her voice were still in effect. Then, she turned around and walked into a second dimensional prison, one that was significantly smaller than the first. As soon as she stepped past one of its walls, invisible, undetectable, and impenetrable to any other, she saw her former roommate, Kurusugawa Himeko, the love of her life. The girl, whose golden hair fell in a glorious stream all the way to her slim waist, was standing but a few feet away from Makoto, looking terribly anxious and afraid. Makoto wouldn't blame her. If she herself, before she was bestowed the power of the Orochi of course, was suddenly thrown into a place where there was no escape, she would freak out for sure.

"Who... are you?" Himeko asked as soon as she noticed Makoto's presence. Oddly enough, though, fear was gone from the girl's amethyst eyes when she looked into them. In there, only puzzlement and curiosity remained.

"An Orochi, do you have to ask, Priestess?" Makoto laughed softly.

"Well. Of course you're one..." her former roommate and classmate said in a timid voice. "I... just want to learn who you are. Somehow, you seem... very familiar." She took a step forward, her hand rising as though wanting to touch Makoto's shadowed face. "Do I know you?"

Had she not been holding a tight rein over herself since the beginning, mostly because she feared that her will might falter at the mere sight of the one she loved, she would have given a violent start.

"I doubt that you do," she said, her own hand brushing away that of the Sun Priestess almost roughly. Startled, Himeko took a step backward to where she once stood, her face the color of the setting sun.

"I'm... sorry..." she said in the end.

"What kind of Priestess would apologize to her enemy, really?" Makoto remarked in great amusement. Her voice showed no such signs, though.

"I'm sorry." Her complexion grew even redder, if that was possible.

Smiling inwardly, Makoto decided to do what she came here to do. The more quickly she got it over it, the better. Her hand rose, her palm facing the Priestess. Himeko, who went wide-eyed at the gesture, stepped another step backward. It was more of a natural reflex than a deliberate movement, Makoto would say.

"Are you... going to kill me?" the girl asked. Her voice suggested that she doubted such a thing was going to happen, though. Makoto decided that her former roommate's sixth sense was very strong.

"I'm not," she admitted.

"Why?"

_Because I value your life even higher than mine,_ she thought. Yet, what she answered the Priestess of the Sun with was, "Because you'll serve us better alive than dead, Kurusugawa Himeko." She drew deeply on her powers and summoned Tasogare to her hand. The sword, black blade and black edges appearing to be sucking in the light around them, made Himeko put one more step between them. With the Twilight Blade, the strongest of all Sealed Swords, in her possession, no feat was impossible to Makoto. Not even _sealing_ the powers of the greatest enemy of the Orochi Lord.

She let go of Tasogare.

Upon release, the Twilight Blade immediately split into six exact copies of itself, which surrounded the Sun Priestess in a perfect circle. The six round crystals, which separated the hilts and the blades of the Swords, pulsed ominously beneath the gray heavens. Giving her love a smile beneath the shadows obscuring the lower half of her face, Makoto snapped her fingers and activated the spell she had just laid. A thick rod of black light emerged from every single one of the crystals and connected with one other, forming a hexagram with Himeko at its center in the end. The six-pointed star then started to revolve around the Priestess of the Sun, who seemed to have already fallen under the power of the Twilight Blades the way she suddenly collapsed onto her knees and suddenly clutched at her chest. She was having trouble breathing, too.

_Bear with me, Himeko,_ Makoto thought._ It won't be too long. _She snapped her fingers one more time.

A second rod of black light came forth from each of the crystals and met one another just above Himeko's head, consequently creating a pyramid-like structure. At the exact moment of its completion, an invisible force lifted the golden-haired girl off the sandy ground. The Priestess, eyes closed and arms outstretched like those of a cross, now had her consciousness forcefully shut down. However, the Sun Crest, the source of her holy powers, was not, for it now shone like noonday in the middle of its master's chest and flooded the prison formed by the Twilight Blades with its golden aura.

The battle that would decide Himeko's fate in this vicious war had just begun.

* * *

Himemiya Chikane was standing inside the Garden of the Roses of Ototachibana Academy, her back leaning against the oak tree, eyes closed, her mind filled with gloomy thoughts when her mind alerted her of alien presences of powers. Her eyes opened just in time to see a Dimensional Portal opened just a few feet away. From the oval-shaped silvery surface stepped out two persons, one male and one female, whose face she did not know. Darkly tanned, the woman wore a pair of rectangular glasses and a mischievous expression over her face. The man, on the other hand, was expressionless in his grave black suit. Orochi, without a doubt, Chikane thought. Very few others in this world knew how to cross distances using a Portal. Even fewer had any reason to appear before her. 

"Leave, Orochi, I have no time to play with you," she said and closed her eyes again.

"You have guts, Priestess," the voice of the woman said, sounding quite amused. "Not many people dare talk to me in such a way."

"I will say it only one more time," Chikane responded icily. "Be gone, or I will destroy you where you stand. Be thankful that I am not in the mood to deal with you today." She was no longer the weak girl who could not even withstand a blow from the Orochi with Arashigumo the Wind Blade. Now, she had enough power to carry out her threat. It was ironic, really, how she used to pray that she would become stronger to protect the one she loved. Now that she had, Himeko no longer needed her protection. The little angel had her knight in shining armor to watch over her and give her everything she could possibly need. Bitterness soured Chikane's stomach.

"You are in a foul mood today, Priestess." The woman chortled. "Why, when a teenaged girl looks like a bear with sore teeth, there's usually a boy involved. Let me make a wild guess. Is it our Seventh Head?"

Chikane opened her eyes at the same time a thin pillar of silver light erupted to the woman's right side. Had Chikane moved it an inch closer, her spell would have sheared the Orochi's arm off. Although the woman pretended not to care, sweat was already beading on her forehead, revealing how afraid she had to be feeling inside. The man standing next to her only seemed worried the way he kept glancing at his companion as though trying to tell her that they should just do what Chikane had suggested. The stubborn glance the female Orochi shot back declared that she was not going to.

_You shall regret it, fool,_ Chikane thought grimly.

The male Follower obviously had a similar thought. "You are always too stubborn for your own good, Miyako Aneki," the man muttered darkly under his breath, which earned him a sharp glare from his sister. Probably he had never meant his words to be heard.

"It appeared that I've guessed correctly, after all." Miyako's dark calculating eyes swiveled back to Chikane. "Did he leave you for another girl or something? What, Tokiya?"

"That is not entirely true, Aneki," the man said. He sounded like an actor who was rehearsing his scripts. An awfully reluctant one at that. The man, not putting much efforts or emotions into his line, kept eyeing Chikane and looked as though he was taking a stance against her. No doubt that he would draw his Sealed Sword the instant she lifted a finger. Strangely, though, there was pity shining in those dark eyes. "Another _girl_ left _her_ for _him_." Those words might have been dragged out from his mouth by force.

Miyako burst into laughter while Chikane felt like she had just been struck with a steel hammer across her chest. It was the truth, and she was ware of it, yet she never expected it to hurt so badly.

"Is it true, Priestess, you swinging that way?" She turned to her brother. "Who's that girl? Do we know her?"

"We do." The man nodded curtly. While the female Orochi seemed to be enjoying herself greatly, he did not. "Her name is Kurusugawa Himeko."

"You must be kidding!" Miyako feigned surprise by letting out a loud gasp. "The Priestess of the Sun?!"

"Orochi, you seem to have a death wish," Chikane said, her hand rising. Silver light, glorious and cold, erupted beneath her feet and brought the howling winds into the Garden of the Roses. Even the ground began to tremble at the terrible pressure that she was exerting upon its surface. At the deployment of her powers, both Followers took a step backward as a sword the thin blade of which shone like a mirror appeared in the male one's hand.

"You can't take the truth, can you?" Miyako sneered, her slightly trembling voice belying her true emotions. "Does such a _normal_ thing as a girl going out with a boy upset you so much you would kill me to stop me from talking about it? Besides, shouldn't you be blaming yourself? After all, it was _you_ who pushed the Priestess away, wasn't it?"

Chikane struck with her power. Silver light erased everything in her vision. When it faded away, however, she found her heart stopped. The two Followers, who had evaded her attack, now stood atop the fence, their faces bloodless. Yet, her attention was not on them. It was on the one person who stood where they once did. That person had long golden hair, a beautiful face, and a pair of amethyst eyes that drew in every scrap of Chikane's existence. That very same person was on her knees now, her clothes torn and blackened in many places, her skin so red anyone would have sworn that she had just spent a full day in a sauna.

_"Himeko!"_ Chikane cried out in pain as she ran to the golden-haired girl's side. "Are you alright?"

"It hurt, Chikane-chan," the little angel said as she sagged against Chikane's chest.

"I am sorry," she sobbed as she held the other girl tightly, as she felt tears rolling down her cheeks. "I am so sorry." In her rage, she had lashed out madly, trying to obliterate the Followers who had gotten on her nerves. Never in her wildest dream did she expect the one she loved would end up being her victim. "Please... forgive me."

"Don't cry, Chikane-chan," Himeko murmured in her embrace. "I'm sure you didn't do it on purpose."

"How forgiving, Priestess of the Sun," remarked the Orochi woman. "Still, will you continue to forgive your friend when you learn what lies in her heart?"

"Get lost!" Chikane snapped as she raised her vacant hand. A shaft of silver light thicker than a man shot from the palm of her hand and made the two Followers leap hastily out of the way. The man seemed ready to retreat while his sister was torn between fear and stubbornness.

"Stay here, Himeko," she whispered to the one she loved. "I will chase them away." When she tried to lay the golden-haired girl against the oak tree so that she could have more freedom in dealing with the Orochi Heads, she found out that she could not. Himeko had wrapped her arms very tightly around Chikane's back, rendering it impossible to peel the angel off without hurting her.

"What are they talking about?" the girl asked, the bright amethyst crystals that were her eyes fixed upon Chikane's face, urging her to answer.

"There is no point heeding the words of an Orochi, Himeko," she answered as she tried to come up with a way to divert the disaster that was descending on her head.

"Priestess, do you know that your friend has been hiding a secret that concerns you?" Miyako said, appearing oddly composed. Perhaps she had realized that with the golden-haired girl clinging onto Chikane so, there was no way in hell she could do anything to shut the woman up. Exasperation and panic swelled rapidly in her. If this continued... if this continued...

"Chikane-chan," Himeko turned to her. "What is she talking about?" She sounded anxious, and her questioning gaze chilled Chikane to the bone.

She had no answer for the one she loved. On her knees she remained, her power fading, her mind unraveling, and her heart beating at the speed of light. Cold sweat started to drench the clothes on her back.

"Chikane-chan?" the little angel pressed, her voice urgent. "Please, tell me."

"I will, Priestess," Miyako said. "Your best _friend_ is in love with you."

"You're lying!" Himeko cried. "You're lying! She isn't that kind of person! There's no way she would do something so revolting!"

Chikane had a feeling something in her just broke. Agony threatened to rend her heart in two. Her arms, originally wrapped around the soft frame of the little angel, fell limply to her sides while tears once again flowed down her cheeks and into her mouth. _They tasted just as bitter as blood,_ she thought. Only very dimly was she aware that the conversation between her sweetheart and the Orochi woman was still going on.

"_I'm_ lying?" Miyako laughed more loudly than ever. "Then why do you think your friend isn't _denying_ it?"

Himeko's head turned toward Chikane, her face painted with suspicions. "Tell me what she said isn't true, Chikane-chan," she pleaded. "Please!"

"Is it so... revolting for me to love you, Himeko?" Chikane said softly and immediately wished she had not. The little angel had leapt away so quickly that anyone would have thought Chikane was some sort of... disease. Worse, the other girl's face was now twisted beyond recognition with disgust. It hurt Chikane so much that the only thing she wanted to do at the moment was find a knife to plunge into her own heart.

"I... I only want your smile... Himeko..." she heard herself say, she felt her own hand rising to reach for the light of her world, who took a step backward... toward the Orochi. Pain surged along her every nerve. "I only want you to be happy." The golden-haired girl looked at her with plain disbelief.

"That's a lie," Miyako said. "Tokiya!"

"As you wish, Aneki," murmured the woman's younger brother, who raised his shiny sword overhead. "May the Lord have mercy on you, Priestess."

Water emerged from thin air and formed a great dome that towered all of them. Then it unleashed a storm of blinding light and swept away her consciousness.

_Standing in front of the door to her quarters, her right hand holding her schoolbag, Himemiya Chikane took a quick glance at the wristwatch on her left. It read ten thirty in the evening, a time when a good student should already be snoozing away in bed so that she could wake up early to attend school the next morning. Sighing in disappointment and annoyance at the Student Council the President position of which she held, Chikane turned the handle and opened the door as quietly as she could. It would not do to wake the one she loved. _

_"Welcome home, Chikane-chan," greeted the little angel, who was in her pajamas, who was sitting on the spacious king-sized bed with a magazine in her hands. Beside her, the bright light of the bed lamp seemed at best insignificant. _

_"I am home." Rational thoughts taking flight, Chikane let go of her schoolbag and hurriedly crossed the distance separating the door and the bed. The little angel only had time for a surprised squeak before Chikane pinned her down with her whole body. _

_"What's wrong with you?" Himeko laughed softly as Chikane rolled onto her side and pulled her into a tight hug. Despite what she said, the golden-haired girl never gave any resistance. On contrary, she burrowed even more deeply into Chikane's embrace and put her arms around Chikane's back as tightly as she could. She was very soft, she was very warm, and she smelled of the fragrant herbal soap in the bath chamber. She must have taken a shower shortly before Chikane came back. _

_"I missed you," she murmured into her sweethearts ear, her hands roaming the girls back. Her touches made Himeko coo very softly in appreciation. "Is it not good enough a reason?" _

_"Come on, Chikane-chan." Himeko laughed. "How long have you been apart from me since the afternoon? Four, five hours? It couldn't have been that bad." _

_"You have no idea, Himeko." Chikane heaved a deep, exasperated sigh. "The Student Council meeting was a torture when I had to let you go home all by yourself. I kept looking at the clock, you see, hoping it would end soon." Yes, the golden-haired girl had no idea how annoyed Chikane had been while listening to all the students in the Council reporting about its monthly budgets and upcoming plans when the sole image in her mind was the lovely smile of her beloved girlfriend. _

_"But we're together for the most part of the day, aren't we?" Himeko said, her face growing hotter and hotter, her heart pounding faster and faster. "And after you pressured your father into moving you into my class, you spend every minute in lectures watching me regardless of what the teachers say. Isn't it too much already?" _

_"No, it is not," Chikane argued. "I can never get enough of you." _

_"That's sweet, Chikane-chan." The little angel laughed again and placed a soft peck on each of Chikane's cheeks as she held her head up with both of her hands. _

_"What about you?" She gently brushed her fingertips along the line of Himeko's face. "What were you doing while I was suffering during the Council meeting?" _

_"Which would you prefer, the truth or a lie?" _

_"The truth." _

_"I was busy writing a love letter to another girl in our class." The golden-haired girl grinned mischievously. Her face was drawing nearer and nearer to Chikane's own. _

_"No you were not." She pinched the other girls cheek. How dare she make fun of Chikane so? "Everyone knows you are crazy about me." _

_"And I am." Her sweetheart smiled adoringly at her. "I love you. I love you. I love you, Chikane-chan." _

_"What about the _real_ truth, then?" _

_"Telling my diary how much I was missing you, Chikane-chan." _

_Himeko pulled Chikane's head closer and kissed her fully on the lips. Warmth overwhelmed her. Kisses from Chikane rained upon the little angels cheeks, her forehead, her neckline, and her lips. Unable to contain her desire any longer, Chikane's hand reached for the buttons of the golden-haired girls pajama and undid them one by one. _

"Stop!" she screamed at the same time silver light burst from every particle of her existence and obliterated the water dome. Where it stood, only billowing smoke remained. The male Orochi, Tokiya was his name, was stunned. In his hand, the shiny blade was quivering like an arrow that just struck a board. There were a few scratches on the shiny blade, and blood was trickling out from the corners of the man's mouth. He and his sister did not seem to notice, though. Their full attention was on Chikane and Chikane alone while hers was on the little angel, upon whose face abhorrence could be seen as clearly as day. Now that the girl had seen it... there was no going back.

"Does it seem familiar, Priestess of the Moon?" Miyako asked. "It must, I believe, for it was the dream you had two nights ago."

There was nothing she could say to deny it. For it was the truth. Her tears fell silently upon the blades of grass, where they shone like the morning dew.

"Do you still say that you only want her smile and her happiness, Himemiya Chikane?" The woman landed upon the ground in front of Chikane as lightly as a leaf. "Admit it, now. What you _wish_ for is your Himeko being happy by _your_ side. You _want_ her, Himemiya, in both heart and body. You _desire_ her to the point that you even dream of her accepting your twisted and sick feelings, saying she loves you in return. You are no better than the lot of us. The only thing that made you _different_ is that you put up your conceited front when _we_acknowledge out innermost cravings as the drive of our existence."

She stepped forward and put her tanned face an inch away from Chikane's. "Now that the one you love has learned your secret," she said, "it's over. You have lost everything, Priestess." She threw back her head and unleashed a gale of laughter that was full of self-satisfaction and malice.

When Chikane looked at Himeko one last time, she realized that the Orochi woman was correct. She had lost the one she loved most. Her life... no longer had any meaning left. Everything... was now over.

Something inside her shattered. It was as though a sun had just emerged deep within her soul. Heat rushed to every corner of her body while silver light annihilated the world. _I am so sorry, Himeko,_ was the last thought that crossed her mind before her consciousness faded into oblivion.

* * *

For the thousandth time since he and his Aneki set out from the Temple of the Dragons, Girochi Tokiya found himself heaving a deep sigh. He gave a start, however, upon noticing that blood was trickling out of his mouth. It was only then did he become aware of a pain nestling his heart. A quick survey of his Sealed Sword showed him the cause. The final attack unleashed by the Priestess of the Moon had actually managed to damage the blade of Suikyou, which was linked directly to his health. Had she broken it... Tokiya would have been thrashing in pain upon the ground at the moment. He should know, as it had happened to him once. Apparently, Suikyou had been snapped into two once by the hand of Himemiya Chikane herself. As to how and why that happened, he did not know. His memory concerning the incident, or accident he might say, was hazy at best. What he did remember, however, was that the disaster was triggered by his sending his clone, wrought by the Water Blade's power, after the Priestesses while he himself launched an attack against the traitorous Seventh Head. 

Tokiya sighed again. Even if the rich girl had broken his Sword, he still would not complain. After all, he deserved whatever happened to him. Although this was not the first time he shattered a girl's heart, being the player that he was, the Priestess of the Moon was the first person he managed to devastate so utterly and so thoroughly. Well, sure, he did not devise the plan... yet his Sword was the instrument with which Miyako had employed to reduce Himemiya to what she now was.

Tokiya's eyes found his latest victim, the first person he was reluctant to hurt. The Priestess of the Moon was currently on her knees on the grassy ground, her body motionless, her sapphire eyes lightless. There was only one phrase that could be used to describe her. _A breathing corpse, _he thought.

Towering over Himemiya was Tokiya's creation, a soulless vessel whose appearance was the mirror image of that of the Priestess of the Sun, whose existence was granted by the water of the Sealed Sword. He would never have thought of making one himself had it not been for his cruel and devious Aneki. She was the one who came up with the idea to sow discord between the Priestesses. She was also the person who wrote out every line the clone had said to break the other girl's heart. He had never imagined that his sister was capable of such a thing.

"We should go, Tokiya," Miyako said as she turned around. "Our work here is done." She tossed a glance over her shoulder at the lifeless figure of the Priestess. "I doubt she will ever recover from this." Her eyes swiveled back to meet his. "Well, what are you waiting for?"

"As you wish, Aneki," he said in resignation. Once he had reverted the fake Kurusugawa Himeko into water and withdraw it into Suikyou, he prepared to weave a Dimensional Portal to take them back to the Temple of the Dragons. However, no matter how much power he channeled into his Sealed Sword, it refused to respond. It took him another several attempts, during which Miyako frowned at him and tapped her foot impatiently on the ground, to notice that Suikyou did obey his commands and weave the Portals for him... and the reason why they did not come out was because the very instant they did... they were immediately unraveled by _someone_. His jaw fell. He had never heard of an Empowered who could do that. Besides, there was no one here and except him, his sister, and...

His head whipped around. _The Priestess!_

A terrible chill seized him. Somehow, without him noticing, Himemiya had risen to her feet. The girl now stood behind Miyako, her face colder than the heart of winter, her sapphire eyes glowing with murderous intent. Soundlessly, her hand rose and powers bloomed in her like the heaviest storm he ever had the chance to witness. In but a heartbeat, she had gathered enough energy to raze the whole Academy to the ground. Silver light blazed from her palm as if she held the midday sun. Then it plowed forward, the tips of its fingers aimed directly at his sister's back.

_"Watch out, Aneki!"_ he shouted and lunged forward.

Although he succeeded in grabbing Miyako's arm and pulling her out of harm's way, he failed in protecting himself. Pain pierced him as the Priestess's hand, wreathed in brilliant silver light, parted the flesh on his shoulder as easily as a knife would butter. Smoke billowed from his body and the smell of burning flesh permeated the cold air as he screamed and fell.

_"Tokiya!"_ his sister cried. The Orochi Second Head was holding him in her embrace as though wanting to protect him against the girl who stood imperiously before them. Yet, he could hear her quickened heartbeat, he could feel her arms trembling, and he could sense her fear. Miyako had never been brave. He tried to retrieve his Suikyou, which lay but a foot away from his hand, so that he could keep his sister safe.

Before Tokiya could reach the Water Blade, though, a thin silver thread coming out of nowhere whisked the Sword into the air... and held it airborne in front of the Moon Priestess. The girl, her arms folded beneath her chest, her whole body cloaked by impenetrable serenity and a thick layer of light, studied Suikyou with an unreadable expression. If Death were to take a physical form in this world, she would look the way Himemiya Chikane did now.

"How dare you hurt him!" shouted his sister, who quickly summoned Rekkyou the Fire Blade. Yet, before she could do anything with the Sword, another wisp of silver aura curled around the thing and took it away as easily as an adult would snatch a toy away from her child's hand. Shocked, the Orochi Second Head invoked more of her powers, apparently attempting to call Rekkyou back to her hand. Blood withdrew from her face a few minutes later, when she finally realized that it was not going to happen no matter how many more times she tried. The Fire Blade and the Water Blade now stayed airborne in front of the Priestess, wrapped in her silver light and infinitely beyond their grasp.

"Give them back!" commanded Miyako, who quickly fell silent at a frosty sidelong glance from the Priestess. The Orochi Second Head quivered as if struck, but sounds no longer came from her petulant mouth. Aside from the Dark God, whom she feared, and Tsubasa the First Head, whom she adored, no one else had ever been able to force her to shut up like this. Tokiya shivered from the cold winds that had been raging in this secret garden the moment the Priestess deployed her powers... and from the possibility of what was going to happen to them. They were as helpless as fish caught out of water now... and Himemiya Chikane was someone who could flay them anytime she wished.

Thoughts fled Tokiya's mind when he saw that the blue-haired girl had settled her icy gaze upon him and his sister both. A second later, it came back to the Swords floating in front of her. When she closed her eyes and slightly raised her head, a great pillar of silver light, the base of which encompassed the whole rose garden, soared forth into the sky. In less than a blink of an eye, Suikyou the Water Blade and Rekkyou the Fire Blade were snapped into pieces.

The Priestess was the only person in the garden who did not howl.

* * *

Standing high in the sky, body wreathed in a magical force field that cloaked both her body and her presence from just about everybody else, Rinne quietly observed the raging battle field. In her vision, there was two dimensional prisons, one big, one small, both concealing the vicious battles being fought within. In the larger one, three Orochi Followers were trying their best to destroy the traitor Seventh Head while doing everything in their power to prevent the latter from having any chance to counterattack. In the other one, Saotome Makoto the Eighth Head was pitching every ounce of her power against that of the Sun Crest. 

Rinne chuckled quietly. She had been very amused earlier, during the audience between the girl and the Crystal Orb, that which housed the true body of the Dark God of Blood and Destruction, for the former had volunteered herself to the task of sealing the Sun Priestess, which she also proposed. The girl, who seemed to have nerves made from cold steel, had said it directly to the face of her liege lord that she did it because she wanted to ensure Kurusugawa Himeko's safety until the end of the world. Rinne could see where the girl was coming from. She must have thought that if she could seal the power of the Sun Priestess, Yamata no Orochi would no longer had a reason to go after the latter, consequently removing her from the Followers' death list. That was the only reason why Makoto _demanded_ such a thing.

Her chuckle grew louder and much more amused. Despite the fact that what the Eighth Head desired and what Rinne did contradicted each other point by point, she had _allowed_ the Dark God to grant his assent. It was not as though the girl had any chance of success anyway. She seriously doubted everything would go as smoothly as the former track-and-field athlete had wanted it to. True, Kurusugawa Himeko couldn't use a hundredth of her transcending powers. True, the Sun Crest alone could stand no chance against the might of a Sealed Sword. Yet, neither of these two facts took into account the intervention of the Sun Priestess's protector, Tsukiyomi the Goddess of the Moon. The woman, overly protective of her adopted child, would thwart any attempt to harm a hair on Kurusugawa Himeko's head no matter what her bastard father, Izanagi of Heaven, ordered.

Well, Rinne was wrong about that, much to her dismay. The Goddess of the Moon was nowhere in sight when she should have been there from the very beginning, watching over the Priestess the way she always had. Not that it changed anything, of course. While she was listening to Saotome Makoto speaking with the Crystal Orb without the former's knowledge, she had allowed room for miscalculation. That was why _she_ was here. In case anything went wrong, she would be ready to make it right. She rewarded herself with a smile. It seemed that her carefulness had paid off. Since Tsukiyomi had gone missing, which was extremely unusual, there was no way the Sun Crest could stop Makoto from sealing it. Unless... Rinne extended a hand and prevented the Eighth Head from doing that.

Suddenly, a terrifying presence of power entered Rinne's mind and whipped her head to the left, where she found a colossal pillar of silver light uniting the heavens and the earth. Frantically, she let her mind reaching out to learn what was happening there. Once she did, she sensed her mouth gaping open. The fool Orochi Second and Third Head had ignored her order and gone ahead to attack Himemiya Chikane, the Priestess of the Moon! _Damn it! _she cursed. Those disobedient siblings had better wished that Rinne would arrive on time to save them!

* * *

Even though her full attention was on the battle she was waging against the Sun Crest, Saotome Makoto could not help but hear a thunderous noise echoing into her Dimensional Prison. When she looked up, she spotted a huge column of silver light connecting heavens and earth. She gaped. This presence of power... it could be no one else. _Himemiya Chikane! _she thought in alarm. Worse, she also sensed the presences of the Second and the Third Orochi Heads dangerously close to that of the rich girl... and the Followers' life signs were growing weaker and weaker by the minute. It was as though they were dying! Fear entered Makoto's mind. Could it be that the Priestess of the Moon had personally sought Girochi Miyako and Girochi Tokiya out so that she could kill them? 

A loud cracking sound nearby cut off her train of thoughts and whipped her head back toward the Seal she had formed around Kurusugawa Himeko, the Priestess of the Sun. Her mouth fell open. The pyramid-like structure was once empty save for the floating body of her former roommate inside. Now, it was filled by a seemingly endless ribbon of red light one end of which was tied to the golden-haired girl's little finger. The ribbon, appearing deceivingly harmless, was beating fiercely against the inner walls of the Seal with its impossible length... and whenever it did, the entire structure along with its anchors, the Twilight Blades, trembled. The Seal now looked exactly the same way a kettle, lid closed, spout plugged, and content boiling, would atop a stove.

Hastily, Makoto channeled every ounce of power that she could summon into the Swords, trying to make them hold against the assault of the red ribbon. Dazzling light, red from the serpentine length and golden from the Sun Crest, fused as one to battle the dark aura of the Sealed Swords. They won. As a thunderous sound erupted, the Seal along with five of the six Tasogare disintegrated, leaving only the original unharmed. Waves of red and golden light, spreading in all direction, shattered the Dimensional Prison Makoto made and hurled her off the ground.

Once she managed to place herself firmly in the air, she was at least a hundred feet away from where she last stood. There, the Priestess of the Sun remained in the same posture, her body trapped within a pillar of golden light, around which the red ribbon spiraled upward until a part of its length vanished in the cloudless heavens.

Her heart simmering with anger, Makoto summoned Tasogare back into her hand and directed its tip toward the ribbon. No matter what it was, she was going to cut it into pieces. And once she succeeded, she would try again to Seal the Sun Crest. She only hoped she still had enough energy left to do what she had to.

Makoto rushed at the pillar of golden light. When she was but a few inches away from slashing the Twilight Blade at the ribbon, time and space seemed to freeze around her body. The air suddenly became as thick as the earth, and she felt as if she was being crushed from all sides. Yet, even when she was held firmly above the ground, unable to twitch a muscle or utter a word, she could still notice that Himeko's expression was starting to change. Agony slowly manifested upon the girl's lovely face. She seemed immersed in a dream so sorrowful it wrenched her heart.

_"Ao-chan..."_ was what the golden-haired girl said when a tear emerged from her closed eyes and rolled off her cheek.

The world exploded in a blast of red light. Images, which Makoto had no idea where they came from, floated across her vision, all of them bearing the figures of two girls who looked exactly the same as Himeko and Himemiya Chikane. In some, they were laughing together or embracing one another. In others, the two were sparring with swords in hand. And the last of the images was the most shocking of all. Makoto gasped. _It couldn't be!_ In the vision, Himeko was... Himemiya was...

The light swept her away.

* * *

Oogami Souma could only groan in frustration and exasperation as he tried to evade the spells that the three Followers were hurling at him. For the last fifteen minutes or so, all that he did was glide in the air in a ragged path, changing his direction every few seconds, so that he wouldn't be hit. Compared to the battle he had with Tsubasa-nii-san a few days ago, this one was every bit as vicious. Despite the fact that none of the Orochi he was facing, or running away from to be precise, seemed as good a swordsman as the First Head, they all were long-range spell casters. And they were strong! Shortly after the battle began, Souma realized that his chance of winning was slim to none. Under their heavy fire, Souma had no room for defense, let alone counterattack. If he fended off one of the Orochi, he would be cornered and fall prey to the other two in a heartbeat. That was why he had to run around like this. Although it hurt his pride a great deal, he didn't have any other choices. 

_"Lapis Lazuli Claws!"_ The Orochi Fifth Head, the boyish bespectacled woman who wielded Asayuki the Ice Blade, swung her sword.

From the frozen sea, enormous icicles rose toward Souma with incredible speed.

_"Souls of the Winds!"_ Above him, the Sixth Head, who was called Nekoko, shouted, the tip of her Arashigumo the Wind Blade pointing directly at Souma. Twisters descended from the cloud-ridden sky, trying to snatch him into their midst.

_"Damn it!"_ he cursed. Would this ever end?

He tapped into Raien's powers. Thin flows of purple lightning incinerated the tips of the icicles, stripping them of their deadly weapons. Then he landed on one of them and jumped sideways when the twisters were inches above his head. The raging whirlwinds crashed into the icy hell Asayuki created, hurling ice splinters sharp as knives everywhere. However, those posed no threats whatsoever to Souma, as they were too small to withstand Raien's electrical currents.

_"World Divider – Earth apart!"_ the scantily dressed girl shouted as she plunged Chiseizaha the Earth Blade into the ground.

The surface of the ice broke into two and let out thousands and thousands of vines which quickly arranged themselves to form a humongous eight-pointed star inscribed in a circle directly below Souma's feet. _Oh crap! A Movement Seal! _was the thought that crossed his mind when rings of ancient runes showed up around the Seal, one positioned atop another so that they all had him as their only target. A beam of emerald light the size of the eight-pointed star itself sprang up from the rings of ancient runes and engulfed his body.

He cried out at the top of his lungs. Pain roamed through every of his particle, heat from the light slowly smoking his skin.

"I've the Seventh Head trapped already" the Fourth Head yelled. "Capture him, Reiko!"

_"Ice Worlds Guardian – Asayuki!"_ The long blade of Asayuki detached itself from the hilt and then separated into three smaller blades. Together, the three enclosed a large spinning triangle of white light. _"Frozen Frame!" _The triangular plate became a brilliant pillar of light that rushed in Souma's direction.

Being caught in the World Divider spell of Chiseizaha, Souma could only watch as his end approached. _Is this it?_ he thought bitterly. Today, the girl of his dream rejected him. Today, he learned that there was an Elemental Blade that could effectively seal away Voice of Sorrow sung by his own Sword. And today, he was surely going to die.

At that very moment, the sealed space created by Tasogare the Twilight Blade was shattered by a wave of red light, which also washed away the Movement Seal that was keeping Souma busy and the impending threat of the Frozen Frame. Strength coursed through his veins. He had no idea how... but he knew that he could do it now. Whoever generated that red light had just granted him a golden chance to turn the tide of this battle.

"I summon you, Raien, Dragon of Lightning!" Souma tossed his Sword into the sky.

After a flash of purple light, the Lightning Dragon appeared in its massive and serpentine form and slithered thunderously across heavens and earth. When the creature roared, it made the air and the earth alike tremble. When it flapped its gigantic wings, shockwaves emerged and threatened to even blow Souma away. The three Orochi followers stared at him soundlessly, their mouth opening in shock. Just as he thought, none of them really knew how to release the true forms of the Elemental Blades. Well, it wasn't like he did either, though. Sometimes he could, sometimes he couldn't, for reasons that he failed to comprehend.

_"Move, Orochi Heads!"_ roared the Eighth Head, who now stood hundreds of feet above the sea's frozen surface. She must have been hurt, for one of her hands was clutching at her forehead while the other trembled around Tasogare's hilt. Her voice, once full of contempt and pride, had become uneven and breathless. Still, her command was full of authority. As soon as she finished talking, the three Followers immediately flocked to her side.

Looking down at the beach, he found the Priestess of the Sun lying motionlessly on the sandy ground. Anger erupted in Souma as he descended next to Himeko and took her into his arms. After a quick survey of the girl he loved, he heaved a sigh of relief. His Orochi powers had informed him that there was nothing wrong with her body. She was simply but into a deep sleep, one from which she was going to wake soon. There was not one single scratch upon her body.

He raised his head and glared angrily at the four Followers.

_"Raien!"_ he commanded, and the dragon unfolded its feathery wings. _"Death of a thousand stars!"_

Countless of lightning bolts came from the tips of the wings' feathers, making deafening sounds as they traversed the air toward the Orochi Heads.

"We'll meet again, traitor," the Eighth Head said coldly as she put her sword horizontally in front of her chest. "When we do, I'll deal with you myself." Space became alive and wrapped itself around the Followers, transporting them away before the lightning bolts could reach them.

Even though he was the one who had emerged victorious, Souma couldn't help but feel grim for his future. The Orochi Eighth Head never showed a sign of surprise or fear even when she was looking at the mighty dragon that was the True Form of the Lightning Blade. That suggested that she either knew of a way to deal with it... or she could conjure up one on her own. The thought sent a chill down his back. Already, she was more powerful than he was. If she could summon the True Form of her Sealed Sword, it was highly unlikely that he could defeat her. Heck, he doubted that both he and Tsubasa-nii-san together could. The Eighth Head had proved herself to be the greatest enemy that he would face in his life.

"It seems that the fate of the world truly rests on your shoulders, Himeko," Souma told the girl sleeping soundly in his arms. "I only hope you can awaken in time to save it."

* * *

Yue the Goddess of the Moon was treading down a spacious hallway, which was brightly lit by the crystal chandeliers hanging on the vaulted ceiling, when she found a pair of female guards, in Rosenkyuu's crimson liveries, standing primly in front of a large pair of cold metal slabs that had to be a hand thick. Once she had put on the icy façade she did in front of everybody and made sure that none of what she was feeling inside her heart showed on her face, she strode forward. Upon noticing Yue's presence, the guardswomen went wide-eyed and hastily dropped to their knees. 

"Praises be to thy name, Tsukiyomi, Goddess of the Moon," they said together, voice racked with reverence, head down so low their foreheads nearly touched the marble floor.

"Rise," Yue commanded, feeling slightly puzzled. When she returned to the Underworld a few hours ago, she had expected its residents to frown at her in disgust and name her traitor to her face. No such thing happened. The people she met were as genuinely respectful as ever the way they knelt at her feet and asked after her health. It was as though she never saved Izanagi, as though she never defected to Heaven, as though she never betrayed the Underworld. She did not get it... but she could not possibly ask her Mother or her employees for the reason now could she?

"How may we serve you, Tsukiyomi-sama?" said the young woman on the left, who seemed the opposite of the one on the right in every possible way. Where she was tall, the other was short. Where she had hair that fell all the way to her waist, the other had short hair that made her look like a boy. Where she was plain in the face, the other was certainly beautiful enough to halt a man's heart. Not that the latter could compare to Yui in term of beauty, though, for no men or women could disagree that the Goddess of the Sun was the most beautiful woman in the Three World.

Yue looked at them, who seemed to want to shy back under her intense gaze. Finally, she spoke in a firm voice, "What are your names?"

"Ren, Tsukiyomi-sama," answered the taller woman, her voice breathless.

"Mine is Kuuya, milady," said the one on the right.

"Well then, Ren and Kuuya, what I desire is entry to what lies beyond these doors. And once I am inside, you will stand guard over them and let no one else enter without notifying me first. Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes, ma'am," they said and swallowed audibly. They ought to have realized why she asked for their names. They probably have understood, too, that should they fail to heed her instructions, she could always find them and hand out punishments. Not that she ever intended to, of course, but in order to make them obey her fully, she needed to frighten them a little bit.

"Good, now open the door," Yue commanded.

With great alacrity, the guardswomen leapt to either side of the doors and placed their right hands upon two circles engraved upon the metal slabs. In less than a heartbeat, they started to rumble as they slid sideways to reveal the interior of a great chamber the only source of illumination of which came from the tall crystal cylinder standing in its heart. In it was a liquid that shone with the color of emerald. In it... floated an unconscious Goddess of the Sun. Yue's heart quivered at the sight.

Gathering herself, she stepped inside and nodded at Ren and Kuuya, who moved the doors back into place. Once the metal slabs had closed behind her and unleashed the darkness back into the room, Yue walked slowly to the container, where her strength unraveled, where her knees gave way. In front of the great crystal cylinder she knelt, her hands placed on its surface, her head lifted up so she could look at the face of the Goddess of the Sun, radiant even when unconscious. Since she no longer had any control on herself, there was nothing Yue could do to stop the tears from thundering down her cheeks.

"Do you not know how much determination it took me to come, dear Yui?" Yue put her face closer to the container and whispered gently. "I want to see you so badly. I want to be close to you so dearly. Yet... yet every time I do, I can't help but feel my spirit crushed. Do you not know how painful it was to maintain a heartless face in front of you? Do you not know tormenting it was to humiliate you when all I wanted to do was to put my arms around you?"

"Of course not, right, my beloved one?" Yue heard her voice breaking like stepped-on glass. "You are never meant to learn. The only thing you are supposed to know of is my hostile feelings towards you. Yui, I tried to make that hatred reality, too, for I thought it would make my life easier to live without thinking fondly of you days and nights. Yet, the more I forced myself to hate you, the more I... I... But no matter what happens, no matter what you may think of me, you will always be the one light illumining my soul, the reason for my existence. So, please do not frighten me like that again. The hardships I have to go through to keep you alive, please do not throw them away."

Sitting down in a slump and leaning her back against the crystal container, Yue started to curse herself for being a weak-minded fool. Not just that, she knew that she was a coward, she was an idiot, and she was... everything she hated in other people. Even when Yui could not hear the truth, even when there was no one here to listen to her secret, Yue still could not say what she needed to, what she had been hiding in her heart for the last three thousand years, and what she wished to tell the Goddess of the Sun the most. Pathetic was what she was. Who could have thought that Tsukiyomi, the Goddess of the Moon, whom Heaven aspired to, was such a weakling?

_ Why is it wrong to love you, why is it wrong to hold you tight? _

_ I look to the heavens, asking for an answer from the all-knowing stars. _

_"Together you are not meant to be," sparkled the million eyes of the night sky. _

_"Unforgiven one, sweet Sinner of the world, seek not what you will never have." _

The song's name was "Lovers Eternal". It was a piece she composed all on her own. It was a song she lulled herself to sleep every night along with the tears and the heartbreak. It was the result of her desire to stay eternally by the side of the only woman she ever loved. It was all she had wanted to say to the Goddess of the Sun, whom she had to abandon for the latter's very own well-being. It was what the little Himemiya Chikane had once sung to her sweetheart Kurusugawa Himeko even though she had no idea where she learned it from. It was one of the few precious memories that remained in her heart from her previous life three thousand years ago, when she lived under the roof of the Lunar Shrine, where she grew up with her childhood friend, with whom she eventually fell in love.

_Yue the Goddess of the Moon was lying on her side on her bed, eyes closed, face drenched with tears, lips issuing soft words from her song, when she heard a knock on her door. Sitting up right on the mattress, she hastily dabbed her wide sleeve at her face to dry away the tears, drew a long cold breath to calm her breathing, and answered, "Yes?" Her perception senses, which automatically extended beyond her room, let her know just exactly who was it that came to her door even before they spoke up. _

_"It is Aoi, Tsukiyomi-sama," the young voice of a little girl said. "May I come in?" _

_"Of course you can, my child." With a wave of her hand, Yue lit up the Silver Sphere that always floated beneath the ceiling of her private chamber. As the soft light began to cascade down in wave, the gentle darkness that had been embracing her until then melted away. _

_The door opened, admitting the small figure of a twelve-year-old girl with long, flowing blue hair falling all the way to her waist and a pair of sapphire eyes that shone like true gemstones under the soft light of the Silver Sphere. The little Priestess of the Moon, in her white chihaya and blue hibakama, then pattered to the bed, climbed onto the mattress, and placed herself by Yue's side, her dangling feet barely touching the wooden floor. _

_Smiling at her adopted daughter, whom she loved as much as she would have her own flesh and blood, Yue let her hand comb through the girls blue tresses and gave her a kiss on her forehead. "Your eyes are so red again. Is there something wrong?" the sweet child placed her little hand on Yue's cheek and asked, her voice touched with worries. _

_"Nothing is." Yue shook her head. "A few specks of dust got into my eyes. That was all." It was only then did she fully realize what her little daughter had said. Again? she thought. _

_"Then why was it that they always did after a visit from Amaterasu-sama?" Aoi asked innocently. "Did she bring dust with her to the Shrine? I thought she was very clean and tidy." _

_Yue blinked at the child, who gazed back at her in puzzlement. Not saying anything, she absently stroked Aoi's head and let her mind reel back to the Shrines entrance just a few hours ago, where the Sun Goddess announced her arrival with a flash of golden light when Yue was standing against an oak tree and watching her children play hide-and-seek. While her children leapt into the other woman's embrace and laughed as she hugged and tickled them – they were very fond of her – Yue had hurried back into her chamber and confined herself in it the way she always did whenever Yui paid a visit to the Shrine. In the pitch darkness, she cried until tiredness defeated her and put her to sleep. When she woke, she could no longer sense the presence of the woman whom she was afraid to love. _

_"Tsukiyomi-sama?" The voice of the little Moon Priestess brought her back to reality. "Are you okay?" _

_"Yes... yes I am, my child." _

_"May I ask a question?" The girl tugged at her sleeve. _

_"Go ahead." Yue smiled. _

_"Do you dislike Amaterasu-sama?" _

_Yue studied her adopted daughter for a full minute before she shook her head. "I do not." She knew a day would come when this question would be posed to her. It was inevitable. _

_"Then... why did you avoid her so?" Aoi asked, appearing more puzzled than ever. "She told me that although she tried to talk to you, you never gave her a chance. She told me it made her very sad. Did Amaterasu-sama do something that angered you, Tsukiyomi-sama?" _

_"No, she did not." Yue shook her head again. The answer did not satisfy the child, of course, for immediately she opened her mouth again. She fell silent, though, when Yue pressed her finger gently against her lips. "Please do not worry about this anymore, Aoi," she said. "One day, when you grow up, I will explain it to you, okay?" _

_The little Priestess nodded. _

_"Well then, it is my turn. Did you come to see me just to ask about Amaterasu?" _

_"No." Aoi shook her head. "I came because I have a question, Tsukiyomi-sama." _

_"What would that be?" _

_"Is there anything you can do to help someone who is having trouble sleeping?" _

_Yue blinked at her little daughter, surprised. After a while, she said slowly, "That depends. How old is this someone?" The answer came to her even before she was done asking the question. _

_"Um... how about a kid my age?" _

_Yue smiled. "Then I would sing that someone a lullaby. My mother always did that when I was young to help me sleep." _

_A bright smile curved Aoi's lips. "Then can I ask you for a favor, Tsukiyomi-sama?" _

_"Of course." _

_"Would you teach Aoi the song you always sing at night?" _

_"How... did you know?" Yue asked quietly, feeling slightly taken aback. It was true that she sang herself to sleep every evening... but when she did, it was already past midnight, a time when her little children were already sound asleep. She never expected to be heard. _

_"Um, sometimes I woke up in the middle of the night because I was thirsty," the child answered, her voice rueful, her hands fidgeting with one another atop her blue hibakama. "Whenever I did, I would hear you sing. I am sorry. I did not mean to eavesdrop." She dropped her eyes afterwards, appearing slightly ashamed. _

_"You need not apologize." Yue murmured as she patted her daughters head. "Answer me, though. How long has it been since Akari had problem sleeping?" _

_"Three days ago, Tsukiyomi-sama," Aoi answered. A second after that, her eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open. She appeared to be at a loss for words, too. Yue could only chuckle in great amusement at the sight. _

_"No need to be surprised so, Aoi," she said. "The three of us are the only people living in this Shrine. It is not impossible to figure that out, is it?" _

_"I... guess not..." the child scratched her head ruefully. _

_"You could have told me it was Akari from the beginning, though. What stopped you?" _

_"Akaa-chan asked me not to. She said that she would get better soon, so there was no need to worry you." The look on Aoi's face told Yue that the girl thought differently. "Anyways," she continued, "that is why Akaa-chan has been zoning out during the days recently. I feel so sorry for her, Tsukiyomi-sama". _

_"Of course you do," Yue murmured in great amusement. "In any case, how bad is her sleeplessness?" _

_"Very!" Aoi exclaimed. "She kept tossing and turning in the nights. Whenever she turned to face me and saw that I was still awake, she went red in the face and turned to the other side immediately. I am really worried, Tsukiyomi-sama. Has Akaa-chan taken ill?" _

_"I assure you that she has not." _

_Of course not, she thought. Yue knew full well that no sickness was responsible for the little Priestess of the Suns mysterious insomnia. Three days ago, the young Moon Priestess had said. It was the day in which a careless and thoughtless duel of spells from Aoi and Akari turned into a disaster. It was the day in which the Kannazuki Priestesses decimated Aoi's private chamber. It was the day in which Yue handed out her very first punishment to make them learn that they had to be much more careful with their transcending powers. It was the very same day in which Aoi was moved into Akari's chamber. The former was supposed to stay there until the complete reconstruction of her own chamber, of which both of them were in charge. Everyday, the two Priestesses had to invoke every ounce of their powers to rebuild the burnt-down roof, smooth out uneven surface that used to be the floor, and a hundred other chores to make the chamber habitable again. _

_Unable to contain her mirth, Yue laughed aloud and earned herself a very startled look from her little daughter. But of course, Aoi had not a single clue that her very presence in Akari's room at night was the reason why the latter could not sleep. It was no secret to Yue that the Sun Priestess harbored such an immense crush on her childhood friend that it never failed to make her eyes chase after the Moon Priestess wherever she went. Hard as the child tried to hide her emotions, though, she never ceased to wear her heart on her sleeve within two feet of her crush. Besides, it was not as though she could fool Yue when Yue her spent her childhood doing the same thing anyway. _

_Yue chuckled. She really sympathized with the little Sun Priestess in any case. Aoi sleeping in a futon right next to hers should give her a ton of unsettling emotions every night. _

_"Tsukiyomi-sama." Little Aoi tugged at her sleeve again. _

_"You need not be so concerned, Aoi," Yue smiled at her. "She will get better tomorrow." _

_"Tomorrow will be too late!" the child insisted. "My room will be fully repaired by then, and I will have to go back. I already promised that I would sing for her tonight. I do not want to let her down, Tsukiyomi-sama!" _

_"Okay, okay!" Yue laughed. _

_Acceding to the child's request, Yue began to teach her the words and the tune of the song. Being a genius in everything she did – except for cooking, in which she was simply a disaster waiting to happen – it took her little effort and time to learn it. It was odd, however, that although they shared the same birthday and birthplace, Akari shared none of her childhood friend's genius. The young Priestess of the Sun, despite having transcendent powers and being an exceptional cook, was but a normal girl in everything else. Still, that was not important. What was, was the fact that little Akari had an innocent mind, a caring heart, and a warm personality. To Yue, _that_ was what mattered most. _

_"Akaa-chan is going to be so pleased tonight," Aoi said in the end while a broad grin split her face into two. _

_"Tell me, child," Yue said. "Why do you call Akari by that name? Are you aware it sounds very similar to what you would call a baby?" _

_"I am." The Priestess of the Moon giggled. "Do you not think she is one, Tsukiyomi-sama? She cries so easily. She is a klutz. And... she is just... too cute." Toward the end, Aoi's voice dropped so low it was barely audible as her eyes fell to her lap and her cheeks glowed beet-red under the light of the Silver Sphere. What she was feeling in her heart was so strong that its booming waves echoed endlessly in every corner of Yue's mind despite her reluctance to receive them. Hastily, Yue closed her own mind and started wishing for the first time in a while that the children could learn to control their feelings to each other a little bit better. _

_Yes, Akari was not the only one harboring a crush. Aoi was too, and hers was in no way less fervent. Although the child never mentioned it, Yue knew that she, too, had stayed up very late watching her childhood friend struggling with her own emotions. _

_"Umm, Tsukiyomi-sama, may I ask one final question?" _

_"But of course." _

_"Is it... ever wrong to love someone?" Aoi gazed up at Yue and asked. "That is how the song begins, is it not?" _

_"The question about right or wrong is not for something you have no control over." Yue said gently after a while as she held Aoi closer and ran her fingers through the child's silky hair. "It is not as though you know how or why or even when you fall in love. It is not as though you can decide who your one true love will be. Dear child of mine, always remember what I am about to tell you. Should you find a person you consider most special, someone you cherish with all your heart and soul, never be afraid to tell that person how you feel toward them. Whomever you decide on, no matter how many people in the Three World stand in your way, I will always support you. Never forget that." _

_Aoi blinked at Yue, seemingly puzzled beyond her wits. That was expected. Although Aoi might act mature at times, she was but twelve, an age when she could not comprehend a great many things in this world. But she surely would in time, when she would come to acknowledge her feelings toward Akari for what they truly were. _

_"Ao-chan, where did you go off to? Ao-chan?" Akari's voice echoed in from the empty hallway. The little Priestess of the Sun was looking for her partner, and it was about time she should be. Yue had never seen Aoi, or Akari for that matter, alone for more than half an hour, ever. If one was missing for a minute longer, the other would be worried sick and anxiously search for her right away. Yue only wondered if that was some kind of pinky promise that the two girls made to each other. _

_Upon hearing the other girls voice, Aoi's head whipped to the open door to Yue's private chamber as a brilliant smile plastered on her lips. Yue was very glad that she had already closed off her mind from external thoughts. She surely did not want to be hit again with the incredible amount of affections the two children harbored in their heart, especially when both of them were present at the same time. _

_"Go play with Akari, child," Yue said. _

_"Then I will see you later, Tsukiyomi-sama." Without waiting for Yue's nod, the young moon Priestess rushed out of the room. _

_A slight motion of Yue's hand returned the door to its original position. Quietly, she turned and gazed at her wooden windows, which were always closed to prevent any light from coming in. It should be at most midday outside, when the sun was shining brightly atop the heavens. It was why she always kept her windows shut. The mere sight of the golden sphere would remind her of Yui and the hopelessness of her love for the Goddess of the Sun without fail. _

_As tears once more returned to her face, sorrows begun to mangle her heart. It had never been wrong to love Yui, she never once regretted it, but to get her love across to someone who was oath-bound to Yue as a sister was a different story. Aoi was fortunate that Yue was willing to do anything to support her love. As for herself... Yue had nobody to rely on._

_I want to forever protect the smile you bestowed upon me the moment we met, _

_ To see you happy throughout the blue eternity, _

_ To shield you from sadness and pain until the end of time. _

_ Even if so I have to do from the depth of the night's shadow. _

_ Even if I have to stand at the edge of your life, unnoticed by your beautiful eyes. _

"If you want to see Amaterasu smile that much, it makes no sense as to why you keep hurting her," commented the voice of Yue's mother, which made her give a violent start. When she turned around to look, she found the Supreme Ruler of Reiha standing by the metal slabs, her back leaning against the wall, arms folded beneath her chests, her lips wearing a small but secretive smile. She was the very picture of a cat who had just discovered where the milk saucer was hidden.

"Mother." Yue fell down on one knee, her right hand placed on heart in salutation of one of the two most prominent Immortals in the Three Worlds as she sensed her heart pounding madly in her chest. Since when did the Great Mother arrive? How much had she heard? A lot, apparently, from what she just asked. Cold sweat rolled down Yue's back. It was difficult enough trying to keep it a secret to Yui without a second person knowing. If her Mother decided to let Yui in on too, Yue could not even imagine how disastrous the consequences might be.

"Rise, Tsukiyomi." Her mother helped Yue to her feet. "Unlike your foster father, such formality will not do for me. I am, after all, your blood mother, am I not?"

"Mother, if I may inquire, how long have you...?" Yue bit her underlip and stopped herself from saying the rest of what she wanted to say. Asking that only made her appear to be much more suspicious, if that was possible.

"A few minutes, I guess." The Maker of the World gave her a meaningful glance and an equally meaningful smile. Her eyes, dark as her hair, gleamed mischievously in the emerald light of the crystal container. "You would understand why I could not give a clear answer, Tsukiyomi. Someone as ancient as I hardly pay heed to the passage of time any more."

"But I commanded Ren and Kuuya to notify me should anyone want to enter..." She closed her own mouth with an audible click of her teeth. _Since when did I take up the habit of flapping her tongue before I could think? _she thought.

"You mean the two children standing guard?" Izanami-sama laughed softly behind a raised hand. "They did try to do as you commanded, daughter, but I managed to persuade them not to. Do not take it out on them later, I ask of you. Between my order and yours, it is hardly difficult to guess which one they chose to heed."

"I... understand," Yue muttered darkly. For all her calculations, she failed to realize that there was someone else in the Underworld who had a position higher than hers. If the Regent of the Underworld wished to enter unannounced, who were Ren and Kuuya, two lowly guardswomen, to say that she could not?

"Very well," Izanami-sama said simply and continued studying Yue as though she were something that the Mother had seen for the first time in her life. Under the Supreme Ruler's intense scrutinizing, which seemed more than capable of boring deep into the darkness of her soul and extracting everything she was hiding in her heart, Yue's limbs threatened to turn into water. Fortunately for her, the Mother of All withdrew her penetrating gaze and turned toward the tall crystal cylinder within which the Goddess of the Sun was floating unconscious. Yue was very glad that she did, for had Izanami-sama continued what she was doing, Yue might probably have spilled out every secret that she had kept.

Heaving a sigh of relief, Yue stared at the back of her Mother while a thousand thoughts crossed her mind. Why did the Regent of the Underworld come to Onogoro in secret? How was it possible that she arrived so on time that she was able to prevent the demise of the Sun Goddess? And why did she bring her to the Rosenkyuu, where there was a jungle of equipments ready for the young woman's treatment? Yue was under no false illusion that the two of them had been keeping contact with each other for a while now. And the most important question of all was... what could a high-ranking Immortal of Heaven could have been scheming in the shadows with the Lady of Reiha, which had been at odds with Izumo for the last three thousand years?

"Why are you so quiet, Tsukiyomi?" Izanami-sama said suddenly with her back still facing Yue. "I know you have a great deal of inquiries on your mind. Ask away."

After carefully weighing out all the questions in her mind against one another, she decided to pick the one that she wished to ask the most. "How is Yui, Mother?"

Izanami-sama raised her hand and touched the pillar. Slowly, the crystal layer rippled like a water surface and let it sink deep inside.

"She is in a dire situation," the Regent caressed Yui's cheek with utmost care as she spoke, her voice overflowing with emotions. "Should this be allowed to go on, her body would be broken one day."

"But how?" Yue's insides grew cold. "Yui is an Immortal. As such, she is invulnerable to any sickness!"

"I never said it was a sickness."

"Then what is it, Mother? Please tell me, I beg of you!" Yue pleaded.

"This." At a flicker of Izanami-sama's vacant hand, Yui's clothes, which had been covering every inch of her body beneath her chin, became transparent, allowing Yue the sight of the Sun Goddess's pale skin. She gasped in horror. Encompassing Yui's naked frame was a strange scarlet symbol that gleamed metallic in the green light. She had never seen such a thing in her entire life, yet even the most ignorant of Immortals could still realize that it was a...

"A Curse Mark," the Regent of the Underworld finished Yue's thought with a grave tone. "As long as she bears it, the torments will never stop. It is one of my regrets that I am powerless to remove it and ease her suffering. I am sorry, my child." She hung her head in shame.

"Impossible!" Yue croaked. "Yui is the strongest of the living High Immortals. No on can place a curse on her and absolutely not one that _you_ cannot remove!" Her internal organs turned to ice as soon as she finished saying that. To make it worse, the Supreme Ruler of Reiha turned her head and looked at Yue with a knowing gleam in her dark eyes that were filled with agony.

_No one? Sure there is, _a small voice whispered from the back of her head. Yes, there _was_. An Immortal who was powerful enough to surpass the great Goddess of the Sun, one whose curse was beyond the Mother of All's capacity. Yue looked at the Regent, who nodded with a painful expression on her darkening face.

"Yes, my daughter. It _is_ Izanagi, the Lord of Izumo himself."

"But... but Yui is his daughter! His _blood daughter_, Mother!"

"He stopped seeing Amaterasu as his own child long ago, little one," the Lady of Reiha muttered darkly, her hand gently brushing Yui's golden hair. "To him, she is but an obstacle."

"But he promised me he would not..." Yue clamped her mouth shut. She had let her tongue flap too freely today. She had to take control of it... or risk seeing everything for which she had devoted every ounce of her efforts during the last three millennia washing down the drain.

Fortunately, Izanami-sama did not appear to have heard what Yue just said. The eternal youthful and resplendent Regent only focused her attention on an unconscious Yui and nothing else. A thought suddenly crossed Yue's mind. It was true that unlike Izanagi, the Lady of Reiha was a warm and friendly person who cared deeply for the well-being of her subordinates. Yet... the tenderness and the affection with which she had been treating the Goddess of the Sun were certainly unheard of. Yue felt her stomach lurch. If what she was thinking of was indeed the truth, then every of her unasked questions would also be explained. But... but... could it be?

"I do love her, but not in that way, Tsukiyomi." Izanami-sama laughed out loud. "My, my, what have you been learning in Izumo, I wonder?"

"How did you..." Yue stammered, her face flushing bright red. "You read my mind, Mother?"

"Please, my little puppy, I am your mother." Izanami-sama wiped a tear off her eye, looking as though she might burst into another fit of laughter. "Anytime you wag your tail, I know exactly what you are thinking, even without them written all over your face like this." The Regent gave Yue an amused sidelong glance before she continued, "Worry not. Since I do not have your _peculiar_ taste in women, you need not fear that I may take her away from you."

"What are you saying, Mother, I do not..." Yue protested hastily. The Great Mother's quiet laughter cut her off, though.

"What is there to be embarrassed about, child?" Izanami-sama said warmly. "Amaterasu is a lovely girl. She has charisma, strong personality, and an unyielding will. She is the only person in Izumo whom I admire, for she will not stop at anything to grant the wish of the one she loves. You can hardly find someone as devoted as she in this day and age."

"Yui... has someone she loves? Who is it?" she asked slowly, feeling her heart aching at the words. She used to know who that person was. Now, she was not so sure anymore.

"That I have no right to answer, Tsukiyomi. Go and ask Amaterasu yourself when she wakes." The Regent of the Underworld gave her a playful smile that drove it home to Yue that no matter how many more times she could ask, she still would not get an answer. She sighed. When the Mother decided to act mysterious, she would not admit it should anyone ask her whether the color of her hair was black. That was why Izanami-sama was extremely difficult to deal with sometimes.

"I sense that you still have one question you wish to ask, Tsukiyomi. Do not hesitate."

"Why are you not angry at me, Mother?"

"For what?" The amusement never faded from Izanami-sama's voice. The Regent of the Underworld seemed to be enjoying herself immensely.

"For my betrayal," Yue answered in deep bitterness. "I freed Izanagi and took him back to Heaven, did I not?"

"Contrary to what you may think, Tsukiyomi, I do not see it as a betrayal." The Great Mother winced slightly at the word. "You did what you did because you only wished to return to Amaterasu's side, and I never blamed you for wanting to."

"How... did you know?!" Yue gaped at her Mother.

It was the simple truth, in any case. The desire to see Yui once more and the fervent wish to be by her side again had been what spurred Yue toward the decision to rescue the Lord of Izumo from his prison. Until the day she turned eighteen, she had been living in the Holy City, where she grew up along with the young Goddess of the Sun, the person whose bride she thought she would become one day. Those had been the happiest years in Yue's life, for her every day revolved around Yui's sweet and melodious laughter. Every morning, Yue would wake before the sun could rise and wait anxiously until she heard her sweetheart's soft footfall outside of her room. Every morning, she would close her eyes, pretend that she was still asleep until the golden-haired Goddess opened the door, walked in, woke her up by rocking her arm gently, and whispered _"Good morning, Yue-chan"_ into her ear afterwards in her amazingly adorable voice. It had been all Yue could do to not pull the other girl into her arms and kiss her for all she was worth.

Yue loved her. She loved her so much that the day the Great Conflict broke out in Heaven, the very same day her Mother took her back to the Underworld, was also the one in which she thought she would die. She could not eat, she could not force her lips to touch water, and the only thing she was capable of was crying until she fell asleep.

In her hearts, perhaps she had realized that with Reiha and Izumo now saw each other as enemies, there was no way she could be reunited with the one she loved. Grief, the emotion dominating her heart at that time, was allowed to gnaw at her will to live as a result. Eventually, her consciousness faded, her powers waned, and her soul slowly broke down. In her distant memory, she could still remember lying on the bed and breathing weakly while her Mother tried her hardest to keep Yue alive. She would have died then had it not been for Izanagi-sama's sudden intrusion into Reiha, the Heart of the Underworld. The sole thought that the Lord of Izumo would somehow bring Yui with him returned just enough strength to Yue's lifeless body just to hear a piece of disturbing news. The man she now called father meant to take Yue back to Izumo by force. He failed – thanks to the power of the Crystal Roses, which sustained the Sealing Field around Reiha – and ended up being imprisoned by the Lady of Reiha. But that had given Yue an idea, nonetheless. Throwing all rationality and loyalty behind, Yue freed the man and fled with Him to the Holy City.

Yue had thought that her plan was flawless. She had expected that a life of happiness awaited her return to Izumo, where her heart resided. She was dead wrong.

"I am not blind, silly daughter of mine," replied the Lady of Reiha. "And you certainly were not the first girl I saw who was head over heels in love. Besides, do you honestly expect that _no one_ would notice?"

"I guess not..."

"My dear child, you have suffered so," whispered the Regent of the Underworld, who gently pulled Yue into a tight, warm hug. The Mother's hand then traveled soothingly up and down Yue's back. It was as though all the years she had spent away from Izanami-sama had melted away. It was as though she had traveled back into the past, to a time when she was still little and clinging to her mother's sleeve. "Do not fear. Do not feel guilty. I have never been angry at you, and never will I be."

"But... but all I had done was in vain, Mother." She wept openly on the Lady of Reiha's shoulder. "That bastard Izanagi... he forced me to take an oath to become Yui's sister. And he... he..." Yue told her mother all about it. The reason why she had to humiliate Yui publicly at any chance she had. The reason why she forced herself to hate the one she loved most. Then, Izanami-sama, too, cried.

* * *

Sitting with her arms around her knees in front of her sweetheart's room in the Himemiya Mansion, Kurusugawa Himeko looked at her wristwatch for the hundredth time and wondered when her beloved Chikane-chan would come back. Upon regaining consciousness a few hours ago on the beach, the only thing that remained in her memory was what had happened before she found herself trapped in a strange place with an Orochi and nothing after that. Sou-chan had not seemed particularly happy, though, that she still remembered what she had told him about her and the Himemiya Ojou-sama's relationship. During their trip home, they had not spoken even one word to each other. Once the boy had dropped her off in front of the Himemiya Mansion, he only gave her a sad look, which made her feel extremely guilty, before he sped away on his bike. 

Himeko took out her cell phone, which Chikane-chan had bought her a couple of days past, and dialed the girl's number again. Only the dull ring tone answered her. She sighed. The blue-haired princess had promised that she would be there when Himeko returned... and she had never failed to keep a promise before. Himeko was worried sick about the safety of her sweetheart... yet unlike the maids, who were running around the house and phoned everybody they knew to check whether those people knew the whereabouts of their young mistress, she decided to stay here and waited. There was nothing else she could do. Besides, she did not want to be out there, wandering, when her Chikane-chan returned and did not see her.

"Please come back soon, Chikane-chan," she said as she buried her face in the crooks of her arms. "There are so many things I want to say to you."

* * *

Panting madly, Oogami Kazuki ran as fast as he could down the stone flight of stairs leading toward the Enshrinement Chamber of Shingetsu. Something big was happening down there, he knew it. Otherwise, his heart wouldn't have started to pound madly in alarm when he was relaxing in his bath. 

One step into the Chamber halted Kazuki in his track. Someone else was in there, standing imperiously in front of the Shinken Seals and ice pillar that housed Ame no Hitomi, the treasure that the Oogami clan had been standing guard over for the last three thousand years. And that someone was none other than Himemiya Chikane herself. However, before him now was a person he did not recognize. It wasn't that her appearance had changed. She was still the pretty girl who had slaughtered him with her sharp and merciless words during the meeting in which he told her and her partner about the legend of the Kannazuki Priestesses.

What was no longer the same was her facial expression, which was heavens and earth different from that of the daughter of his old friends, Himemiya Kyou and Himemiya Kimika. The girl's sapphire eyes were glowing with a light so cold it could have snuffed out even the sun's fire. Her whole body was brimming with so much power she could have obliterated the whole Mahoroba City without a drop of sweat. When Kazuki's eyes traveled to her right hand, he felt his throat run dry. She was holding a Japanese katana whose blue scabbard was embedded with the Moon Crest. _One of the Eyes of Heaven!_ Kazuki thought. The events that had transpired tonight, without his knowledge, could have meant only one thing.

"I, High Priest of Shingetsu Grand Shrine, welcome you back." Kazuki fell to one knee in front of the Priestess of the Moon. "Kannazuki Aoi-sama."


	9. Tears of the last full moon

_**EPISODE EIGHT: TEARS OF THE LAST FULL MOON.**_

* * *

Oogami Souma was deeply immersed in a disturbing dream that replayed the scene at the beach, where his childhood friend firmly rejected him, when electric shock rippled along every fiber of his existence and woke him up in a violent start. He fell from his bed in a loud thud. The pain that swept out from his back upon crashing against the wooden floor, however, was nothing compared to the sensation that was tearing his body into pieces. He was under the impression that a thousand needles were nettling his skin and an equal number of swords piercing his heart. He wanted to scream out so badly to release the mind-numbing pressure that was building rapidly inside him... yet he couldn't, for a lump was smothering any sound trying to come up his throat. Thrashing like a fish out of water on the floor, he could only clutch at his chest and wondered in pain and rage why such a thing like this was happening to him. 

All of a sudden, his hands started to glow brilliantly purple in the dim light of the morning coming into his curtained window. From them the lightning came and concentrated into one single point in the confined space of his room. In one flash of ominous light, Raien the Lightning Blade came into existence. With the appearance of the Sword, his physical agony increased ten-fold. He found himself fervently wishing that the Elemental Blade had run him through instead.

_Damn you, Raien!_ he cursed bitterly. It would seem that his worst fear had come true. Paying absolutely no heed to the advice of the High Priest – which he couldn't possibly follow given his situation anyway – he had tapped far too much into the power of the Lightning Blade. Now he had to pay the price for letting the soul of Raien invaded his own body. With his own soul, of course. He could feel the suction force the Sword was exerting upon him. He could hear its seductive voice singing softly in his head, urging him to let his guard down and allow it to _unite_ with him while trying to pull his consciousness into its folds at the same time. He never imagined that Raien could be so shrewd a Sword.

_You're not getting my soul today, or ever!_ he snarled fiercely in his head.

He focused his willpower into holding his ground against the Sword. After a vicious struggle with the cramp that had been ravaging his body, he managed to roll onto his stomach. Then he wielded every ounce of strength he could conjure to crawl toward the Sword while feeling as though he was carrying a boulder on his back. He knew that if he could just snatch the damned weapon, he might be able to impose his will upon the thing, seize control over its soul, and end this torment. Of course, it also involved the risk of having his own soul sucked into the Sword and imprisoned in there forever while that of Raien itself walked the Earth in his own body. The thing would probably return immediately to the side of its Master the Dark God and aided him in destroying the world. It was a scary thought, he must admit, but it wasn't as though he had a choice.

Souma never managed to discover what could have happened, it turned out. When he, after having advanced at the speed of a snail during the last fifteen minutes, had his right hand but an inch away from the blade of the Sealed Sword, the thing pulsed fiercely with flashes of purple light and hurled him against his bed. Souma gritted his teeth in utmost pain a swarm of colorful butterflies stormed across his vision. _Damn you!_ he cursed again. Now, hopelessness rather than anger was welling in him. He could hear the footstep of doom coming nearer and nearer within every second that passed. His soul was slipping slowly away from his grasp. In but a few minutes, it would no longer belong to him.

It was only then did he realize that he was not alone in the room. Sitting cross-legged atop his desk at this very moment was a girl he had never seen before in his life. She was beautiful with her heart-shaped face, with her gray eyes that could suck in a man's soul and keep it there forever, with her long platinum-golden hair that parted somewhere behind her back and wreathed around her slender body like living water streams. The stiff collar of her long and snowy cape, lined with golden and silver threads and fluttering gently in the room despite the deathly stillness of the air, bore a crystal brooch in the shape of two pairs of angelic wings on either side. Souma sensed his stomach lurch. Although this girl was good-looking enough to make Himemiya Chikane look plain in comparison, she instilled something fear into him rather and admiration and worship. In front of him now was a Goddess carved from eternal ice and not a single scrap of human emotion. In front of him now was a doll that could strike fear out of the bravest heart.

It suddenly struck him that perhaps the supplier of his trouble this morning wasn't Raien after all. Tortured as he was, he could still feel the faint resonance of power between the stranger girl and the Sealed Sword. Yes, there was no mistake. In one way or another, she had succeeded in wrestling the control of his own weapon away from him and decided that she would use it to finish him off.

"It would seem that you prefer to prolong your suffering, Seventh Child of the Orochi," the girl said, her voice carrying the full force of an artic wind. "Too bad, I have not the time to play with you." Her gray eyes became alight at the same time that power erupted within the Sealed Sword. "This is farewell." Her words rang across the room like the tolls of the bells of judgment while her right hand made a soft but sweeping motion from left to right.

An invisible force lifted Souma up from the floor, slammed him against the wall behind his bed, and pinned him there. Although the impact hurt him so much he could only let out a wordless cry, he was still able to realize how feeble he was against the platinum-haired intruder. Unseen binds were restraining his limbs. Raien's influence was disrupting the flow of his power, depriving him of the ability to save his own hide. All he could do was watch as the Lightning Blade, now balanced horizontally in the air, drew nearer and nearer toward his heart. Hopelessness all but seized him when the tip of the Sealed Sword touched the fabric of his sweat-drenched T-shirt.

Raien suddenly rang visibly in the air and hurled itself sideways, consequently making a cut on Souma's shirt but failing to inflict any wound upon his skin as it traveled to the other side of the room and plunged into a wall afterwards. The girl's gray eyes widened a fraction in surprise. She had to be realizing that whatever spell she had cast from the beginning of it all was being undone. She had to be noticing that torrential power was returning to Souma's body again while his bindings were being unraveled as quickly as they had been made. Her delicate mouth thinned into a straight line in anger. It was odd, seeing emotion on her stone-cold face.

_"Raien!"_ he roared as he swung his hand toward the Sealed Sword. The Lightning Blade pulled itself out of the wall and flew back into his grasp. Incinerating the final restraints on his body with his weapon's fine lightning flows, Souma landed on his feet upon the bed, ready to launch his most deadly attacks against his enemy. He wouldn't mind if he ended up destroying in own room in the process. The only thing he cared about at the moment was the elimination of the stranger girl, who seemed to be able to control Raien at will. Yet, when he looked up again, she was no longer there. The room was once again empty save for himself. There was no trace left of the person who had just attempted to remove him from this world.

"Souma, Souma!" Kazuki-nii-san's voice called urgently outside Souma's room. "Your sword almost poked my eyes out in the hallway. Are you alright?"

He let Raien melted back into the air before he walked dejectedly to the door and opened it for his brother.

The High Priest, his tall frame clad loosely in his usual yukata, face white as a ghost, stared at the cut on Souma's shirt as he spoke breathily, "What in Heaven's name..."

"Don't worry about it, nii-san," Souma replied darkly as he walked back to his bed, feeling pain jolting in his muscles with every step he took. "Everything's fine," he lied.

"But..." A shake of Souma's head cut the older man short. "Very well," his adoptive brother said in resignation in the end. Terribly curious he might be, he still knew that if Souma didn't want to talk about something, nothing could force him to.

He sat down in a slump on the bed, his head spinning from the slew of questions blaring noisily inside. Who the hell was that girl? And why was she aiming for his life? And what had happened that stopped her from succeeding? He didn't think she was an Orochi. All seven of them he had already met. Each and every of their faces were already carved into his memory too deeply to be forgotten. True, he never discovered the real identity of the Eighth Head... but he was fairly certain that this girl was not her. The senses of power they gave out were heavens and earth apart. But then, with that reason excluded, he couldn't really understand why someone out of the ranks of the Orochi would want to kill him. It didn't make sense at all.

"Souma, now that you are already awake, there's an errand I'd like you to run for me," Kazuki-nii-san said, his voice strangely serious. Souma had a feeling that it was no coincidence that the man was outside his room when he was being attacked. The older man must have been about to wake him up for the _errand _he just spoke of. He glanced at the clock on his desk, which read seven in the morning, then turned his attention back to the High Priest, who was looking straight at Souma with an odd expression on his face.

"What is it, nii-san?" he asked. He barely succeeded in keeping the suspicion out of his voice.

The High Priest then dumped another puzzle on Souma's already mountain-high pile by telling him what he needed to do and where he had to go. Honest to the heavens above, the action Souma had to undertake and the name of his destination did not sound even remotely well together in light of what happened during his date yesterday. Still, what disturbed him most of all about this so-called _errand_ was the last line his brother had told him before the man left his room, _"May the Gods be with you."_ Chills slithered down Souma's spine.

* * *

Upon re-materialization atop the tiled roof of Shingetsu's Grand Hall, Rinne found herself being thoroughly scrutinized by two girls who stood but half a dozen feet away. The twins – no chance they were not, for they resembled one another like two petals of the same flower – had slender builds, long dark hair that fell to their waists, identically pretty faces, and a pair of penetrating dark eyes that were radiating too much defiance for their own good. 

_Insolent meddlers,_ she thought. Had it not been for them, she would have succeeded in taking the soul of the traitorous Orochi Seventh Head. Had it not been for them, she would have been one step nearer to her own goal. She could not believe such a good opportunity had slipped out of her hand just like that. Now that Raien was safely under the traitor's control again, there could be no telling when it could rise up once again against its owner so that Rinne could be given one more chance at eliminating the little eyesore. Furthermore, once Oogami Souma had learned of the consequences to his tapping too far into the Sealed Sword's powers, he would take steps to prevent them from happening again, Rinne was sure. Anger erupted in her like the content of a volcano that had been fuming for weeks.

Her gray eyes fell upon the meddlers again. Maybe if she could take out her anger on the twins, she could feel somewhat better. A quick assessment of their celestial strength, however, disabused her of the intention. Despite being slightly weaker than either of the Goddesses Amaterasu and Tsukiyomi, they were still too powerful for Rinne to handle. At the moment, they could snuff out her existence anytime they wished.

"Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne, I presume," spoke the girl on the left.

Rinne was surprised the moment she heard her full true name issued by a stranger. No matter who the twins could be, they were definitely dangerous. She only wondered if they were from Izumo. Probably not, she decided quickly. There were very few High Immortals in Heaven who could match either of the twins in power, and Rinne knew them inside out. Besides, the residents of the World of the Gods could have no business with her, the exile, the Eternal Sinner who was hated with a passion by their liege Lord.

_Well then... that only leaves..._ she concluded, _the Underworld._

"I am Tsukazaki Haruhi," the girl continued. This is my sister, Fuyura. We are called the Crystal Rose Guardians, Chancellors to the Regent of the Underworld."

_Chancellors to the Regent,_ Rinne repeated in her head. _The two most powerful officials in Reiha, serving directly under the Mother of All herself. _Rinne instinctively took a step backward at a thought of the female Maker of the World, at the explanation that just dawned upon her, and at the possibilities that it unleashed. It was no secret that given her kind-hearted nature, Izanami did not exactly take a liking to the way Rinne had been operating and scheming in the darkness of the Human World, pulling on strings of mortals and Orochi Heads alike. Worse, since the Regent was not as inflexible as Izanagi with regards to the rule forbidding divine intervention to human affair, she could easily ignore it and go after Rinne herself. And if Izanami decided to do just that... Rinne shivered.

"Do not fear," spoke Fuyura. Even her voice had the same pitch as her sister's. "We bear no ill will toward you and your puppets. You can be assured that we will do nothing to harm you or them."

"By the order of the Regent," Haruhi picked up smoothly where her sister left off, "do we come here to deliver this message. Receive and obey." From the girl's upturned palm an orb of light rose up and balanced itself firmly in the air. After a small gesture from the Crystal Rose Guardian, the thing flew toward Rinne and stopped upon reaching her hand.

"Now that our goal has been met, please excuse us," said the twins in unison, seemingly aware of what one another was thinking in their head, as they offered Rinne a slight incline of their heads. Their appearance began to blur in the light of the dawning sun.

"Wait," Rinne commanded. "You have yet to explain why you saved Oogami Souma."

"It is quite obvious, actually." Haruhi smiled. "We saved him because he is still of some use. No need to let him die just yet."

"Of use? To whom?" Rinne frowned at the twin, whose transparent figures allowed her to see them through.

"Someone you have been watching this whole time, of course." Fuyura, too, smiled as she and her sister turned sideways and melted into the empty space beneath the cloudless heavens. _"Please give our regards to the Dark God Yamata no Orochi, Rinne-san,"_ their voice still lingered in her head.

Rinne ignored that last sarcastic remark. Was the _"someone"_ the two of them just referred to supposed to be the Priestesses? Which one? Himemiya Chikane? Kurusugawa Himeko? Or both? Rinne sighed. Fun as speaking in riddles might be sometimes, it was absolutely not so at the receiving end. She then looked at the orb floating above her palm. What could the absolute ruler of Reiha possibly want with her now after such a long time of letting her have her way?

* * *

From the top of the stone flight of stairs leading to the Grand Shrine of the Sacred Moon, Oogami Kazuki watched his little brother speed away on his motorbike. With his hand rubbing his forehead, he began to grow weary and disturbed at what he had seen and heard in the Enshrinement Chamber the night before. Less than eight hours ago, he had thought that everything was still going as planned, albeit a little slow due to the lack of recovery on the Kannazuki Priestesses' part. Now, he didn't think so anymore. The whole thing had been blown way out of proportion... and his ability to exert influence upon how the events were going to unfold was as good as gone. He only wondered what the Immortals of Heaven would say once they learned of it. 

Not something nice to hear, he imagined.

_"I, High Priest of Shingetsu Grand Shrine, welcome you back." Kazuki fell to one knee in front of the Priestess of the Moon. "Kannazuki Aoi-sama." _

_"How long have you known the truth, High Priest?" Kannazuki Aoi, the Original Priestess of the Moon said to him in a voice that would make her eyes, ice-cold as they were already, seem friendly and warm. He shuddered from both the irrational fear that had sprung up in him at the sight of the master he had vowed to serve and the sense of power that was radiating in waves from her. _

_"Since I was little, Aoi-sama," he replied after swallowing audibly. "A secret Instruction has always been passed down the Oogami Clan, informing every generation of what we have to do for the day to come." _

_ "And you think nothing of it?" Aoi took a leisure step toward him. Kazuki began to panic. Twenty years of authority as High Priest of Shingetsu, revered by most, feared by some, had just been washed down the drain by the Priestess's overwhelming presence. The atmosphere around them had turned so intense and murderous that he couldn't help but feel the same way a rabbit would when stared down by a fox. He lowered his gaze to the rocky ground, where he held it. Keeping eye contact for another minute and his heart might just give in. _

_"The Oogami are ever faithful Servants of the Lunar Shrine," Kazuki declared with a weak, trembling voice. He could hardly be firm when he knew that he and his entire clan was in no position to claim that they were not in the wrong in the least bit. "Please understand, Aoi-sama, what we think is irrelevant to our mission." _

_"Is that so?" the Priestess mused softly almost to herself, her tone expressing just how disgusted she was by Kazuki's words. "I thought Servants are supposed to put the safety of their Masters above all else." _

_"Yes, but..." Words failed him. There was no excuse he could use to defend himself. _

_"Mortal, you are no Servant of the Lunar Shrine, least of all faithful," Aoi said, her voice heavy with contempt. "You are but a lowly creature of Heaven, a watchman to check on us Kannazuki Priestesses." _

_"It is as you said," Kazuki admitted grudgingly. An insult it might be, it was still the truth. _

_"In that case, give me a reason why I should prolong your treacherous life." A swift movement of the Priestess's hand put the Eye of Heaven next to Kazuki's neck. His eyes went wide as the cool aura of the sword, despite being fully sheathed and restrained, enveloped his entire body and froze all his movements. He knew what an Eye of Heaven was capable of... and he dreaded the knowledge that a twitch of her finger could blow his head away any time she felt like it. Not just that, though, should Aoi wish it, no one on Earth would ever know why the High Priest of Shingetsu had disappeared overnight. He stole a glance at the five Shinken hovering around the ice pillar and grimaced. He doubted they could save him now. _

_"Killing me won't change anything, Aoi-sama," Kazuki pleaded. "I am at the lowest level of authority in the __Project. My death means little in the grand flow of destiny." _

_The Priestess silently watched him for another while before withdrawing the sword. _

_"Just so you know, High Priest," Aoi spoke, eyes fixed on him to make sure her words were driven home. "As of now, the objective of the __Project has changed. I will not let _them_ toy with my life any longer." _

_"But it's treason against the Gods of Heaven!" Kazuki burst. This was ridiculous. "You could not possibly be..." _

_"I am." A tap of the Priestess's finger on the hilt of her sword snapped his mouth shut. "And you would not stand in my way, would you?" _

_"No, Aoi-sama." Kazuki swallowed. The girl was serious, he knew. He had no other choice but to go along with what she desired. Even if he had had the gall to answer otherwise, the outcome would still be the same, except that the Priestess would use any means possible to make him obey, and that perhaps included endangering the lives of every person in this Grand Shrine in the process. _

_"Very well."_

_You do realize how cruel it would be to her, do you not, Priestess of the Moon?_ Kazuki thought and sighed. But then, he had to admit the truth. Aoi, too, did not really have a choice in the matter. He shook his head in exasperation. Although he never had the courage to voice his disagreement against the _honorable_ Immortals of Heaven, deep down, he knew for a fact that they never gave a damn about other people's feelings when they devised that inhumane Project.

* * *

Izanami the Regent of the Underworld treaded softly upon the verdant hill on which the Rosenkyuu– the massive palace complex in the shape of a crystal rose that was her home, where the power of the entire Heart of the Underworld concentrated within – was built. Beneath the shadow of an ancient tree Amaterasu sat, her arms hugging her knees tightly, her golden eyes gazing toward the far distance, upon the vast vicinity of the City of Reiha. Izanami settled down next to her and gently stroked the little girl's head. 

"The cool air of Reiha is not the best thing for your health right now, Amaterasu. I wish you would obediently stay inside your room and rest."

"It's okay, Izanami-sama." Amaterasu gave her a little smile. "A little breeze can't make my condition worse than it already is. After all, my life is but forfeited."

"My child, do not talk like that." Izanami sighed. "At least have a little faith in me, would you? I will find a way to get you out of this predicament, I promise."

"Please don't overexert yourself over me, Izanami-sama." Amaterasu shook her magnificent head. "It's pointless trying to save someone who doesn't want to live."

Exasperated, Izanami propped her chin on her knuckles and studied the golden-haired girl in silence. Amaterasu was known across Heaven for being a cheerful and childish Goddess, one whom sadness and grief could never seem to lay a finger on. Who would believe that the very same person was sitting here now, acting as though the world had already ended? Well... perhaps for her, it had. She seemed relaxed and calm, though, despite knowing the exact moment she would break down and draw her last breath. Izanami understood perfectly why. For Amaterasu, death was an eternally peaceful rest and a salvation to a meaningless life where she could not be loved in return.

"What do you think of my Reiha, Amaterasu?" Izanami decided to drop the depressing topic. "Is it not the first time you came to the Underworld?"

"It's much more beautiful and comforting than the Holy City itself," Amaterasu answered. "Here, the people, even the condemned souls from the Human World live so peacefully without any fear and reservation. In Izumo, the Gods and Goddesses always have to mind their behaviors and their conducts because of the strict laws father made. I don't think they will take a breather until they retreat into their sanctuaries, if there."

Izanami smiled. The Goddess of the Sun was praising her domain, yet her tone and expression belied her words. No matter what she said, Izumo would mean a lot more to her than any Immortal inhabiting it. Amaterasu's beloved lived in the Holy City after all. It was perfectly understandable that she would favor it over Izanami's home world.

"Such is one of the major differences between your father and me," Izanami murmured. "Izanagi is always uptight and inflexible the way he focused too much of his time and effort trying to make people act in a manner that he deems worthy of a deity. And he is very old-fashioned and resistant to inevitable changes." She chuckled. "You must be aware how many times we went into arguments just because of that."

"I've noticed how shouting battles always occurred when you two were in the same room." Amaterasu grinned. For a second, she returned to the way she had always been, an Amaterasu who liked to laugh and smile. Yet, that moment faded away quickly as she reassumed her indifferent attitude. Izanami resisted the urge to sigh again. Perhaps it _was_ of no use trying to cheer up someone who had willingly staged her own death.

"But still, despite all your quarreling, you stayed in Izumo for the eighteen years after you brought Yue there after her Soul-Birth, Izanami-sama," Amaterasu observed. "That, I still find puzzling."

"It is not as though I had another choice, Amaterasu," Izanami muttered. "Tsukiyomi was born to become the Goddess of the Moon. Those eighteen years in Heaven was vital to her receiving its Sacred Blessing and Acceptance. I could not very well leave her there alone in the care of your cold-hearted Father now could I?"

"I don't think it's fair to call him cold-hearted," Amaterasu pointed out.

"What else to call then, child?" Izanami smiled. "Despite having given birth to all his children by Partial-Fragmenting his soul, he never cared about them properly. I doubt he ever exchanged a warm word or two with you in the last few thousand years. Furthermore, the way he treated Akira and you is just..." Anger surfaced in Izanami's heart. Her smile died away.

"Then probably you haven't seen Father around Yue, Izanami-sama," Amaterasu said absent-mindedly. She sounded as though she did not care about all the terrible things that Izanagi had done to her and her beloved little brother. Perhaps not. The word _father_ Amaterasu used to address the bastard now was absolutely empty and vested with no emotion whatsoever. No one could even tell whether she was talking about her parent or a mere stranger who never made any impact on her life.

"Tsukiyomi is... a different story, child," Izanami allowed quietly, making sure that her tone told Amaterasu she did not really want to discuss this issue anymore. There were things that Amaterasu should not learn. There were secrets better kept away from her forever. Besides, it was Tsukiyomi's express wish that Amaterasu remained unaware of all the things her daughter had told her the day before. Izanami was against such decision but...

"About Yue..." Amaterasu hesitated. "She was there when I collapsed. Did she... come to Reiha with me?"

"No, she did not," Izanami lied. It was part of the _instructions_ from her daughter. Although Izanami detested lying, she could but agree when the girl practically sank to her knees and begged.

"Hardly unexpected of her." Amaterasu smiled sadly. "Yue still can't stand being near me after all."

"Not that, my child." Izanami gently patted the girl's head. "She has something urgent to take care of at that moment. That is all." Izanami was quite disgusted with herself now. Her second lie tasted quite vile in her mouth. She only wondered how long it had been since she last spoke an untrue word during her entire life. She doubted it was after she had moved to this Star System upon her election to one of its Regency offices.

"She only said that to get away from me, Izanami-sama." Amaterasu's voice broke painfully. "I've known all along that she hates me but to think she never cares whether I am alive or dead... But even so... even so... why can't I stop loving her?"

"Amaterasu..." Izanami panicked as the little girl sitting next to her burst into tears, something she did not expect her to do from the moment the latter contacted her from the Human World. To her, Amaterasu had been one unflappable Goddess, one undaunted by the fate awaiting her at the end of the line. Izanami admired her and loved her for it. Never in her wildest dream did she think that a girl with such incredibly strong will would shed her tears uncontrollably so. On the other hand, however, her emotions were hardly unjustified. Tsukiyomi the Goddess of the Moon was ever Amaterasu's weakness. If Izanami's daughter wished it, the Goddess of the Sun would probably serve her head on a tray even before the former could finish delivering her order. She just loved her that much.

"Cry no more, Amaterasu, please," Izanami pulled the girl into her embrace and whispered soothingly into her ear. "Tears do not belong on your face."

"When I opened my eyes, the first person I had wanted to see was Yue." Amaterasu only wept harder. And with every word she uttered between the sobs, Izanami's heart contracted painfully in her chest. The golden-haired girl was as much her daughter as Tsukiyomi now, so the despair that was devouring her inside out was doing no less damage to Izanami's heart. "I was thinking how nice it would be to have her call my name and ask if I was alright. But she wasn't there... It hurts, Izanami-sama, it hurts much more than the Curse ever could..."

Izanami's eyes stung. For millennia, the golden-haired girl had been suffering in silence as she received heart-shattering wounds from Tsukiyomi on a daily basis. No knife could have hurt the former more than cruel words from the one she loved, which she handed out quite freely and enthusiastically.

Tsukiyomi was not to blame, nevertheless. The child was simply doing her best to uphold her end of the _deal_. Plus, she was absolutely unaware of what kind of pain she inflicted on her most important person every time she humiliated the Goddess of the Sun just so that she could keep her safe. Izanami could only imagine how deeply both of the two girls were hurt. One of them thought she was hated by the one she loved most, the other one knew full well she could never be with her the way she always wanted. Rage twisted Izanami's mind. Izanagi had better prayed that the next time they met, Izanami could keep her calm, or she would rip his heart out to see whether it was flesh or metal! This suffering hell could all be laid at the damned man's feet!

_As Izanami departed from Izanagi's study in the Heavenly Palace, her head was still spinning from the proposal he made to her but less than fifteen minutes ago. It was certainly unexpected. Carefully, she weighed the good and bad sides of the proposal against one another so that she could get a clearer view of the big picture. She surely was not going to accept or reject the man without thinking about the consequences first. _

_Indeed, Izanagi was correct when he claimed that it was going to be a union that would bring the two Makers of the World closer together despite their differences in political policies and personal beliefs. Sure, it would also benefit the Underworld greatly as a result. Since Reiha was not exactly the best place in the Three Worlds to live in – a large portion of the city was still unexplored wilderness – not many Immortals had considered immigrating there, thus creating a serious underemployment problem within her Soul Administration Bureau, the employees of which were vital in dealing with the immense flow of fallen souls that were being pushed into Izanami's domain at a neck-breaking rate. A word from Izanagi could fix all of that. He could certainly issue a decree to the Celestial Assembly, which would in turn give her the immigrants and the resources she needed to build her own world. _

_Delicious as the offer might seem, however, the price she must pay in return was by no means little. When it involved one's happiness, she knew she had to exert utmost care. Furthermore, were she to accept this arrangement, it would mean that she was paying for her own gains with something that she believed she had no control over. Love was hardly a bargaining item in her mind. Sighing, she wondered for the first time why the Ruler of Heaven had to pose such a difficult question to her. Of course, everything would be well if she agreed to his proposal. The problem was what would happen if she _did not

_The sudden sounds of footsteps falling hard cut off Izanami's train of thoughts. She was surprised. Izanagi was a pain in the neck when it came to rules and regulations – she suspected that the man had a _very_ extensive list of punishments ready for those who violated any of his precious Laws – so she could only wonder who had the gall to run in such a loud manner near where Izanagi resided. _

_Upon turning her head to the left, she saw her daughter, the eighteen-year-old Tsukiyomi the Goddess of the Moon, being dragged by the wrist by a very excited Amaterasu, who was running at top speed with a brilliant smile on her face. As Tsukiyomi noticed Izanami's presence, she raised her vacant hand and waved to her while a smile no less brilliant than that of her childhood friend curved her own lips. Curiously enough, the child did not seem to mind Amaterasu although anyone else who dared lay hands on her that way would regret it for the rest of their natural life. A heartbeat later, what remained of them were two little shadows, slowly fading into the lush green of Izanagi's back garden. Izanami chuckled. Those two were certainly close. _

_The smile slid off her lips. She was distracted when she could not afford to be. A decision that would bind Heaven and the Underworld for all eternity, or to split them even further apart, was waiting to be made. She had not much time. Izanagi was an impatient man at his best. If Izanami did not give him a reply soon, he would keep pestering her over and over again. She wondered if she should ask what Tsukiyomi and Amaterasu would think about the man's proposal. After all, such decision would affect their lives the way a meteor would the Earth. Yes, it would be a good idea to ask, definitely. _

_Izanami levitated her body off the ground and high into the cool air of the Holy City. There, she detected traces of Amaterasu and Tsukiyomi's celestial powers. They were currently at the east side of the Glade of Wonders, the vast and luxuriant land behind the Heavenly Palace where Izanagi had taken much time and effort to capture the beauty of nature in its entirety. Izanami must say that the place's haughty name was a very good description of what lay within it. The way he arranged the waterfalls in every possible size, the numerous kinds of flower beds, and the tall forests of green trees was simply incredible. Much as it pained Izanami to admit, Izanagi's aesthetic sense was unmatched. _

_A flicker of Izanami's hand transported her to the airspace directly above Amaterasu and Tsukiyomi's heads. They were in the Water Vale, one of the eight subdivisions of the Glade of Wonders, where only the prettiest and rarest flowers were kept and nurtured by Izanagi's most talented experts. _

_The two girls were huddling over a small patch of land, where a single flower lived. She recognized the thing. It was a rare breed of something humans named lily, whose long petals were as white as the falling snow. After one of the young Goddesses' most recent excursions to Onogoro, Tsukiyomi had brought back the thing because she said she liked greatly she could not part with it. The only problem was that the flower itself had been living in the tainted land of the Human World for so long it could not bear the purity of Izanagi's soil. Such was the very reason why it had been withering despite the gardeners' efforts to keep it alive per Tsukiyomi's request. _

_Strangely though, Amaterasu and Tsukiyomi seemed to be arguing among themselves. Izanami's daughter looked like she was trying to persuade the young Goddess of the Sun out of something, like she always did when Amaterasu was about to pull some of her tricks on other people. The golden-hair girl, on the other hand, kept waving Tsukiyomi off and tried to assure the girl that everything would be okay, again, like she always did before her mischief made an infuriated Izanagi take her by the scruff of her neck and throw her into her own room. _

_Izanami started her descent toward the two girls. She stopped short a second later in horror, however, when the young Goddess of the Sun pulled out something she hid in her white hagoromo. It was a mirror unlike any other in the world. The object had two faces, one shinier than the surface of a pond in summer, the other blacker than the darkest ink. Around its circular rim was a ring of diamond, carved with ancient characters that spelled out one of the most dangerous incantations ever made. Even high in the air, those words were as visible to Izanami as day. Goosebumps rose all over her skin as Izanami recalled what they meant, what they could accomplish, and what tasks they were given the moment the mirror was forged with both Izanagi and Izanami's powers _

_ 'Inochi no Kagami, the Mirror of Life!' Izanami mouthed the scary object's name wordlessly. She could only wonder in shock as to how the little girl managed to get a hold on First Supreme, the ultimate magical entity in the Creation Realm. Izanagi was supposed to keep it safe amidst the Memories Sea, where no hand save the Keeper's could touch, as far as she was concerned. The reason dawned on her quickly. The Keeper of the Memories Hall, an ancient Immortal whose powers were not enough to sustain his youth, was nearing retirement, so he allowed his Apprentice, Susanou, to rule in all but name. The young God of Storms, idolizing his elder sister as he was, must have handed the Mirror to Amaterasu without a second thought. _

_Izanami hurried to the two fearless but ignorant Goddesses, who never seemed to notice her presence. If she failed to stop them before they unleashed the power of the Mirror of Life, there was a good chance that they would end up killing themselves in the process. First Supreme was not something even High Immortals of their caliber should trifle with, in any event. In the beginning, the two Makers, Izanagi and Izanami herself, created the object to guide the passages of the human souls and to guarantee them an uninterrupted Cycle of Death and Rebirth. For that purpose alone, Inochi no Kagami had been granted so much power that its scope now encompassed the grand flow of every living being's Fate. The Mirror's name was not just for show, for it was truly up to First Supreme to do with mortals' lives as it wished. _

_The most troubling thing about Inochi no Kagami was that it possessed no emotions or even a brain to distinguish between good and evil or right and wrong. The Mirror only acted accordingly to the instructions with which it was given from the Celestial Assembly and never bothered what consequences it would wreak upon the Human World. Ever fearful of a future where someone would seize the Mirror and plunged all Three Worlds into eternal darkness, Izanami had regretted making First Supreme not long after its completion. That was why she had come to Izanagi and suggested to him a _solution_, which was threatening the two stupid girls' lives right now. _

_ Despite Izanami's determination to stop Amaterasu and Tsukiyomi, she was too late. A powerful rainbow aura emerged from__First Supreme_ _and stopped Izanami dead in her track. The young Goddess of the Sun had already raised Inochi no Kagami overhead and recited the forbidden incantation. _

_"I am the Master of the Grave, Weaver of Man's Destiny, _

_ The Herald of One's Beginning, the Bringer of One's End. _

_ Together, let us bind the Dark, let us trap the Light. _

_ In My name, condemn the Living, awaken the Dead." _

_With Inochi no Kagami floating in front of her, Amaterasu used the forefinger of her left hand to slash at the palm of her right. When her skin opened a fraction of a heartbeat later, the holy blood of the Goddess of the Sun began to flow. The girl then pressed her hand onto the black side of the mirror and delivered the ritual's final and most decisive words, _

_"For my Wish, I Pledge my Blood, I Pledge my Life!" _

_The archaic runes on Inochi no Kagami glowed brilliantly as its diamond rim turned about. The rainbow aura that had been spreading in the air around them thinned into a single beam of light that focused upon the dying flower. Slowly, yet steadily, the withering petals regained their texture and strength. When the Mirror of Life fell silent afterwards, the lily was standing in all of its brilliance amidst the green patch of land. And no wonder it did. If First Supreme could manipulate a person's life force as it willed, saving a little flower was by no means a difficult task. Yet in that knowledge lay the danger. People, too fascinated by the magical entity's powers, failed to realize that everything had a price, and that the Mirror of Life was no exception. _

_First Supreme__ dropped to the ground from the Goddess of the Sun's hand and rolled off until it fell quietly on one side while Amaterasu slumped down on her knees and struggled fiercely for breath. Frightened out of her wits, Tsukiyomi shook Amaterasu's shoulder urgently and asked in utmost concern, "Yui-chan, Yui-chan! What's wrong?" _

_"I think I pushed myself a little too hard this time, Yue-chan." Amaterasu tried to smile. All she could manage was a quirk of her mouth's corners. _

Pushed herself a _l__ittle_ too hard?_ Izanami sniffed in irritation. Amaterasu had no idea what she was talking about. The eighteen-year-old did not take the last line of the incantation seriously when it meant _exactly_ what it said. Yes, that was the _solution_ Izanami had brought before Izanagi to prevent some individual from abusing First Supreme__for their selfish desires. Anyone save the full Chamber of the Celestial Assembly who wished to use the Mirror of Life had to pay an insane amount of their own life force in return for the thing's Life-Giving and Death-Granting powers. The greater the action, the greater the cost. Although Amaterasu was a powerful Goddess, even though she only prolonged the span of a measly flower, First Supreme_ _had at least halved her vitality. Had she tried to save someone's life instead, she would surely have lost her own. _

_"That's why I told you it's a bad idea, Yui-chan. Why didn't you listen to me for once?" Izanami's daughter was on the verge of bursting into tears now. _

_"But I thought you didn't want the lily to die..." If anything, the young Goddess of the Sun only sounded puzzled. _

_"That's another story!" Tsukiyomi cut her off. Izanami had a feeling that the girl was trying not to yell at the Goddess of the Sun with all her might. "You're _mad_, Yui-chan, risking _your life_ for a _flower _like that!" _

_"You're wrong." Amaterasu held up her right hand, the wound on which had already closed due to her Goddess's Healing power, and gently stroked Tsukiyomi's head. "Not the flower... I only do it for you." _

_In a moment of shock, the silver-haired girl only stared at the Goddess of the Sun, speechless. Then a light pink color gradually crept onto the Goddess of the Moon's beautiful face as she took Amaterasu's hand into both of hers and held it against her smooth cheek. Izanami lifted an eyebrow in surprise. This did not feel right at all. While she knew they were close enough to be mistaken for blood sisters, she was also aware that no sisters behaved the same way they did. If anything, such a weird atmosphere they were giving off only made them look like a pair of lovebirds who were not aware that they were not alone. _

_"What am I ever going to do with you, Yui-chan?" Tsukiyomi asked gently. Her tone, sweet and loving, implied that no response was really needed. "Keep saying things like that, doing things like that and I... I'm not sure I can hold back any longer, you know?" _

_"Hold what back?" Amaterasu said, confused. "Eh?" the Goddess of the Sun stammered, suddenly realizing how infinitesimally far apart their faces were. Tsukiyomi tilted her head with a smile as she moved in even closer, put her hands on either side of her friend's face, and claimed her pale lips. Not forehead, eyelid, nose, cheek, or any of a dozen other places people placed a kiss on to express gratitude or affections. _Lips._ Izanami felt her mouth hanging open in shock. _

_"That," Tsukiyomi replied as she pulled her deeply flushed face away afterwards. Her hands remained firm on the golden-haired girl's cheeks, however. Izanami did not think that her daughter intended to take them away. If anything, she only seemed as though she wanted to offer her childhood friend another kiss... on the very same place she did last. The golden-haired girl, now, despite the disbelief and astonishment written across her face, did not seem as though she would mind were that to happen. _

_"Yue-chan..." was all the Goddess of the Sun could mutter before she went crimson in the face and finally fell unconscious over the silver-haired girl's body. It could have been the after-effect of First Supreme that knocked her down... or not. _

_Tsukiyomi only chuckled as she cradled the other girl into her intimate embrace. Amaterasu's head was on Izanami's daughter's shoulder, her waist encircled by the latter's loving arms. _

_"Sleep tight, my beloved Yui-chan," the Goddess of the Moon whispered as she rubbed her forehead affectionately against that of Amaterasu, as she let her hand caressing the other girl's cheek. "Let me be in your dreams the way you are in mine." _

_They continued to stay in the same position upon the lush lawn, one sleeping soundly, the other never had a clue Izanami was hovering above their heads, dumb-founded by what she just saw with her own two eyes. She could not believe it. For a while now, she had suspected that something strange was happening to Tsukiyomi the way the young Immortal sometimes sat by herself and chuckled at nothing and the way she seemed to doze off into her daydreams while her eyes were still open wide. Izanami had guessed that someone had stolen the heart of her dear daughter, too, but honestly, she never thought Amaterasu to be the culprit. It was not that she had any objection to such an unusual pairing, though. Izanami was only caught off guard by this revelation. _

_She smiled. Since she had always liked the little Goddess of the Sun, nothing could make her happier to know that soon, the girl would become her second daughter. A lovable one, no less. Izanami turned around and warped herself back to the ground in front of Izanagi's study. She already had the answer for him. She had an inkling the man was not going be pleased about her decision, though. _

_No, she did not think he would. _

_"What did you just say, Izanami?" Izanagi glared at her with a thoroughly blended mix of anger and disbelief. Just as she thought, he did not take it well, at all. It was kind of funny to see him so, in any case. Another time she would have laughed at his expression – everyone knew she was not fond of the man – but right now, doing so would result in disastrous consequences. _

_"I said I rejected your proposal to my daughter, Izanagi," Izanami calmly repeated. The other Maker looked like he was going to explode right then and there. She wondered if she should stand back and erected a Shield around herself just in case. _

_"You do not have to be so hasty in answering me. I gave you three days for consideration, did I not?" _

_"No need." _

_"You must be joking." Izanagi sat down on his armchair, hand clenched on top of the desk in front of him. "You were not even sure fifteen minutes ago!" _

_"I am now," Izanami replied. _

_"Is it because of the age difference?" the man demanded. "I know I am much older than Tsukiyomi herself but we are eternally youthful, are we not? I did not think you would mind." _

_"No, not really." _

_"Is it because I am on the same level with you that you feel weird about it?" _

_"Not that, either," Izanami declared impatiently. If anything, she was feeling very uncomfortable the way this conversation went. _

_"You are not helping, woman!" the Lord of Izumo said in exasperation after he gave several more of the reasons he thought of, all of which Izanami only replied with an indifferent 'Not that'. "At least tell me what Tsukiyomi feel about my proposal, will you?" _

_"How should I know? I never ask." _

_"What?" The Ruler of Heaven pounded his fists on the desk. "Then why in hell do you reject me when you do not even know what Tsukiyomi would say?" _

_"Let me remind you that she is _my_ daughter, Izanagi." Izanami frowned at the other Maker of the World, annoyed. "When I say that she would not agree, then she would not! Give up. She never had eyes for you anyway." _

_"Then whom does she have eyes for?" the man growled dangerously. "I know you well. You would never be so certain unless Tsukiyomi loves already someone else. Spill the bastard's name!" _

_"None of your business," she replied coldly. There was just no way she would tell him the truth. After all, she had been in too many arguments with him, far too many of them heated, to _not_ know what Izanagi intended to do and what he _would_ do once he learned the name of her daughter's lover. She would say that the last thing Amaterasu need to be afraid about was the loss of her own life. _

_"Fine. I could still figure it out without you," Izanagi tapped his lips and began to speculate out loud. "Tsukiyomi is not at all friendly to people around her. Men that could get near her could not be counted beyond one's little finger. Let see..." _

_"I told you it was none of your business, so quit it, Izanagi!" This was getting out of hand. Much as Izanami hated to admit, Izanagi was quite smart and sharp despite being a thoughtless creep most of the time. Should she allow this to continue, he might just be able to guess who his rival was. She certainly did not want that. _

_"Susanou and Kagutsuchi? No, they are only twelve, could not be. Ame no Murakumo is ten, he is out of the question" As though the man never heard what Izanami said, he went on, undisturbed,. "But then, there is no one else! What she does every single day of her life is hanging out with Amaterasu, is it not?" The creep's eyes widened. "Then could it be..." _

_Izanami slapped her forehead in frustration. Now the cat was out of the bag. _If only you were a tad less obvious, daughter, this would never have happened,_Izanami thought dryly. What should she do now? _

_"It is Amaterasu, right?" Izanagi watched her closely, his temper completely out of sight. Yet, on the man's face now was a dark shadow that spoke volumes of his anger that was boiling within. "Right?" he shouted, a mountain of knives hiding in his arctic voice. _

_"So what? If it is indeed she, so what?" Izanami confronted the jealous creep and said with all her authority as the Regent of the Underworld. _

_"It is unacceptable, that's what!" Izanagi roared. "Tsukiyomi could love anyone she wanted to, but not Amaterasu! Such revolting acts could not be allowed!" _

That had been how the fight started. That had been how their voices shook the whole Heavenly Palace in their shouting battle. That had been how the Great Conflict came into being, too. Meaningless as the conversation was, it helped Izanami realized that the more she prolonged her stay in Heaven, the more dangerous it would be for both the Goddesses of the Sun and Moon. Izanagi would not leave them alone once he had learned of what was going on behind his back. And it was all the more disturbing when he had developed a _hatred_ for his own daughter. Well, that was a bit far-fetched. The creep had _never_ seen Amaterasu as one. To him, she was the Goddess of the Sun, an _object_ he made to control the light of the celestial star, and now an obstacle in his path. Nothing could possibly stop him from deciding that he did not need a rival. The man was capable of far more evil than Izanami ever could, since he was the kind that would destroy what he could not have. She would not put it past him to stage both of the girls' death.

The very next day, while Amaterasu was still out cold due to the fatigue, Izanami took Tsukiyomi back to Reiha, relying on the excuse that her daughter had received all the necessary Blessing and Acceptance of the Sacred Moon. She could not take Amaterasu, though, for the girl could not survive in her domain. She could stay there for a while, a week's time perhaps, but not her whole life. Since Amaterasu was not a Reiha-born Immortal, she needed time to grow immune to the power of the Crystal Roses. However, she would die before it could happen, for the Sealing Field cut her off from the Sun, which was the source of her vitality. Merciless to his family, Izanagi had tied Amaterasu to the Sun by all means possible to make sure she would not forget her duties to Izumo, to Heaven, and to him. Although Izanami had had to abandon Amaterasu, she had left something with the girl, to make sure her father could not harm her out of anger and jealousy. Izanami had entrusted to Amaterasu her greatest weapon, Enishi, the Red Thread of Fate. It was a pity that the girl was not strong enough to use the Thread against what inflicted the Curse on her body.

In so doing, Izanami had made two major miscalculations. First, Tsukiyomi loved Amaterasu too much to be separated from the latter. In the beginning, Izanami only wanted to retreat to Reiha to find a way to reunite the two children later. As time went by, no plan appeared in her head. Meanwhile, the lovesick Tsukiyomi's health degenerated badly. Her daughter was practically dying right in front of her eyes while she could do nothing to help.

It also had been that time that Izanagi chose to intrude into the Underworld all by himself. From what she could gather, the man's purpose was not to save the world because of the sudden cool-down of the Sun. The creep only came into Reiha to take back Tsukiyomi. The Lord of Izumo was not aware of the Sealing Field's existence, though, so he ended up in her custody instead. Izanami then decided to detain the despicable creep, hoping to force him to agree to the arrangements she made for Tsukiyomi and Amaterasu. Izanagi was too stubborn, however, so she had no choice but to keep him there until he bent down to her will.

That was when the second miscalculation came into the picture. Izanami had not paid enough attention to Tsukiyomi and her feelings. She was too busy to let the young Goddess of the Moon into the plan. Consequently, the girl was kept in the dark. She probably thought that Izanami was imprisoning Izanagi because of her own anger, not Izanami's love for her. The only logical solution she could think of at that moment to go back to Amaterasu was to free Izanagi... which she did. Come to think of it, such incident was partly Izanami's fault. Had she told her daughter everything, perhaps Tsukiyomi and Amaterasu would not have had to suffer so.

Izanami looked at Amaterasu, whose head was resting on her lap. The little girl had stopped crying. Now, she was merely trying to calm herself down after the uprising of her grief.

"I only want to know something, Izanami-sama," Amaterasu whispered in a tattered and broken voice. "What had changed Yue into the person she is now? Why did she act as if she never kissed me and gave me hope that I could be loved? Why is it that she has to hate me to stay alive?"

"Who told you that, Amaterasu?" Izanami asked, frowning.

"Rinne-chan," the golden-haired girl answered. "She knew a lot of things, but she refused to share her knowledge no matter how hard I begged her to."

_It is no surprise Rinne knows, my child,_ Izanami thought. With that girl's powers, nothing in Heaven could escape her eyes and ears, which included even the best kept secrets in Izanagi's vaults.

"But it doesn't matter much now," Amaterasu muttered. "Everything will end soon. My life, my suffering, my love for her, everything. At least my death has a meaning, now. Enishi would use it to help me grant Yue's one final wish."

Izanami combed her hand through the Goddess of the Sun's tresses of glorious golden hair. _Dear Amaterasu, I hope you will never learn that the day you fulfill it is also when you destroy her other wish,_ she thought bitterly.

* * *

Thousands of miles away, in the Human World, in the castle that was the Himemiya Mansion, Kurusugawa Himeko awoke with sweat drenching her face. To her, nightmares were indeed one of the things she feared most. They seldom visited her, thankfully enough, but when they did, they usually scared her out of her skin. The one that she just woke up from, in particular, was much more frightening and disturbing than the one in which Oogami Souma, her childhood friend, ran her through with his glowing Sword. Of course it was... for it concerned Himemiya Chikane, her blue-haired princess, the Priestess of the Moon, and Himeko's one and only love. 

The dream, while being full of sorrow and agony, was impossibly realistic.

_"Himeko. Wake up, Himeko," a voice whispered into Kurusugawa Himeko's ear and gently roused her from her sleep. When she opened her eyes drowsily about fifteen seconds later, she realized that she had fallen asleep while sitting in front of the door to the private chamber of her sweet heart, Himemiya Chikane, who was now squatting before her with a kind and heart-warming smile on her breath-taking face. The light of the morning sun was flooding into the spacious hallway, its blinding radiance appearing to be gathering around the slender figure of the blue-haired princess and making her seem as resplendent as an angel on Earth. _

_At the sight of the one she loved, the bundle of emotions within her, which had been kept under a tight lid since last night, began to expand and threatened to overwhelm her. Tears welled in her eyes. "Chikane-chan..." she sobbed. _

_"I told you to do something about your crying habit but you never listened," the other girl gently took Himeko into her arms and whispered. "If you cry now, how are you going to react when you learn that I am already gone?" _

_"What are you talking about?" Himeko blinked at the Ojou-sama, sensing tears rolling off her cheeks. "Aren't you right here with me, Chikane-chan?" _

_Chikane-chan only smiled at Himeko and pulled away from her little bit to watch her more closely. There was such a sorrowful glimmer and such a longing look in her sapphire eyes that Himeko's heart began to race in panic. In that dead silence, the blue-haired princess put her hands on both of Himeko's cheeks as she leaned in to place a soft but lingering kiss on her forehead. _

_"Farewell, my beloved friend," Chikane-chan said and pushed Himeko off of her. While she was still shocked by the unexpected action from the one she loved, the other girl's body quietly rose in the air and stayed a couple of feet above the carpeted floor while her every particle shone with an intense silver aura. _

_"No, Chikane-chan," Himeko cried. "What are you doing? Please, come back. Please..." _

_The blue-haired princess's eyes drew shut as her arms hugged her body tight. One last smile was still crossing her lips when a blade of a sword suddenly emerging from somewhere behind her back ran her cleanly through. Blood, shining bright red in the light of the morning sun, spilled onto the ground out of the wound on the Himemiya Ojou-sama's chest and her mouth, from which sound came no more. The Priestess of the Moon, face contorted by physical agony, exploded into thousands of sparks of silver light afterwards. The bloodied sword, after suspending for a few seconds in the air where Himeko's sweetheart once was, vanished._

_Her mouth could only work soundlessly as she shook her head and refused to believe what had just happened. Yet, as she watched the sparkling stars, what remained of the one she loved most, fall to the carpet and melt away, she knew that it was the truth. An uproar of emotion rushed into her head at the dawn of the realization. A terrible pain pulsated across her body as streams of tears thundered down her cheeks. _

_"No!" A heart-broken wail finally escaped Himeko's mouth after it erupted from her vocal chords and burned its way up her throat. _

_What was that?_ she thought in distress. _And why does it seem... so real?_ Right now, she could still feel the lingering warmth from the blue-haired princess's hand, which had been placed upon her cheeks in the dream. Right now, she could still sense the taller girl's lips on her forehead. Right now, she could still hear her sweetheart's words whispering in a saddened voice in her ears. No dream she ever had before in her life seemed a tenth as realistic as this one. _Could it be that it was some sort of... warning?_ a discordant thought drifted across her mind.

Himeko immediately gave her head a firm shake and told herself that the dream, no matter how real it might have seemed, was but a result of her worries toward the one she loved. It was only then did she realize where she was. She was sitting on her bed, in her own private chamber in the Himemiya Mansion, which was a little bit strange. As far as she could remember, she had been sitting with her arms around her knees in front of Chikane-chan's door before she fell asleep last night. After thinking about it a little bit more carefully, she decided that one of the maids or more must have brought her in here. There was no other explanation.

Using the sleeves of her shirt, Himeko dabbed at her face and cleaned up her dry tears before she climbed off the bed and walked out of her room. Without paying much attention to her rumpled and slightly smelly clothes, she roamed the Himemiya Mansion in search for the one she loved once she realized that the princess was not in her own chamber. The name of the blue-haired girl was the only thing that her head embraced as Himeko ran from room to room, hallway to hallway, and flight of stairs after flight of stairs. No one was in sight. Not the maids who usually giggled behind her back as they tried to figure whether she was their young mistress's secret lover, not the menservants who often exchanged unreadable glances as soon as they saw Himeko and her sweetheart in the same place, and not even the Head Maid Kisaragi Otoha who always tried her best to sneak shiitake mushroom unseen into Himeko's food and who would stop at nothing to spoil Himeko's effort to spend time alone with the one she loved. Not that the absence of all these people bothered her more than a fly would a rock. She was not afraid even though she was alone in this gigantic Mansion. As long as her sweetheart was somewhere in here, as long as Himeko could find her afterwards, everything would be fine.

After spending another half an hour looking for her sweetheart, Himeko was no longer so sure.

Standing in front of her own room, which was where she had started, she felt as though her heart had dived into her stomach. Pulling out her cell phone once again – she had many times during her thorough search of the Himemiya Mansion – she redialed the number of the Himemiya princess. The monotonous message that answered her immediately had never changed. _"The mobile you are calling is not available. Please try again later,"_ it had said dully to her before it disconnected. Her heart throbbed in alarm. When Chikane-chan presented the cell phone to her as a gift, the blue-haired girl had promised her that no matter what happened, she would always be there to answer Himeko's call. This would make the second promise that Himeko's sweetheart had failed to keep.

_What could have happened to her?_ she thought worriedly. Why would the blue-haired princess, who had never gone back on her words even once during the one year that Himeko knew her, would break two promises in the same day?

"Himeko," called the voice that belonged to her childhood friend, which destroyed the dead silence that had been shrouding the great castle that was the Himemiya's ancestral home and made her give a start. Turning to her left, she saw Oogami Souma, in his Ototachibana uniform, face grimmer than she had ever seen, standing a few feet away from her in the spacious hallway. The sight of him, however, lit up a flame of hope in her heart.

"Sou-chan!" she said and felt a huge smile splitting her face into two. The boy, however, only seemed shocked as he stared at her in evident surprise. "You told me once that you could sense the presence of a Priestess no matter where she was, right?"

"Yes." Her childhood friend nodded.

"Then can you tell me where Chikane-chan is, please?" Himeko pleaded and almost wished that she had not the moment she noticed the dark shadow stealing across his handsome face. He seemed hurt, too. She didn't doubt that he was. After all, she had been quite heartless and inconsiderate in asking him to find the one she loved right after she rejected him out right yesterday. Even the meekest man wouldn't take very kindly to that. But then... she didn't have a choice. If there was one person in this world who could unite her with the blue-haired princess, that would be him. She didn't think the High Priest Oogami Kazuki would know how... and she doubted the other Orochi Followers would be willing to help. Of course, if they didn't flay her into slices as soon as they saw her.

"I am... sorry, Himeko," Sou-chan answered after a deep sigh. "I don't know where she is." He scratched the side of his face in what appeared to be frustration. "Since last night, her presence was no longer in my mind. It was as though she was..." He closed his mouth with an audible click of his teeth. _Dead_ was what he would have said had he not stopped himself in time, Himeko was sure.

"She's not!" she heard herself declare with an unexpected amount of heat in her voice. It made the boy step a step backward in shock. Somehow, she knew that what she just blurted out was true. Somehow, she knew that her beloved princess was still safe and sound. In time, she had learned to trust her intuition... and they had never failed her in her life. They would not now.

"I didn't say she was!" Sou-chan waved his hand hastily. "Calm down!"

"I'm sorry..." she murmured apologetically after a few heartbeats of staring at her childhood friend.

Silence ensued. Neither of them seemed to want to look directly into the other's eyes. Both of them appeared to be quite reluctant to open their mouths and speak. After a few minutes of uncomfortable quietness, her childhood friend gave his head a firm shake and decided to talk, "Anyway, Himeko, I need you to come with me."

"Where?" she blinked at him, wondering whether the boy had given up his quest for her love. She thought she had refused him very firmly yesterday...

"The Grand Shrine, my house," Sou-chan answered. "My brother needs to speak with you. Urgently," he added.

"I'm sorry, Sou-chan." She shook her head... and heard him groan softly under his breath. He seemed to have predicted that she would not comply. "Please deliver my apology to the sensei and tell him that I'm going to stay here and wait until Chikane-chan comes back." Nothing else in the world was as important as the one she loved. Not even the world itself.

"I'm afraid I can't let you." He grimaced. "My brother charged me to bring you back to him at all cost." _Even at your insistence to disobey,_ his dark, determined eyes sent the rest of the message.

"Why?" she asked, feeling quite worried. If the boy decided to resort to force, she would have no choice but to be carried to Shingetsu Grand Shrine like a sack of grain. Although she seldom thought of him as an Orochi ever since she learned that he was her long-lost childhood friend, she was also aware of his power. In front of him, she had as much chance as a kitten would against a leopard. She only wished a little bit of her Priestess strength, claimed to transcend that of any living Orochi by the High Priest himself, had returned to her the way they had to her beloved. Her words would have carried a little more weight in that case.

"I have no clue." He shook his head. "All that I know is that my brother wants you in the Shrine immediately. He refused to tell me why," he added.

She was trying to find a way to persuade the boy out of bringing her to Shingetsu when she suddenly felt a terrible pressure on her shoulders. Against such invisible weight, her legs shook and every muscle on her body gave signs that they were going to turn into jelly. Just before her knees gave in, Sou-chan extended his hand and helped her stay on her feet.

The boy was frowning at something overhead, face so grim Himeko thought that he expected something to leap at him from the ceiling. Then his expression turned sour before he swung his vacant hand toward one of the windows on the hallway. Lightning danced from his fingertips. The glass along with its steel frames was blown to bits in an instant, showering the fine-shredded splinters out of the house. Then her childhood friend picked her up and leapt out of the window, now only a burnt rectangular hole on the wall, onto the front yard of the Mansion.

As soon as the boy's feet touched the grassy ground, the deafening sound of an explosion roared behind their backs. Hit by a powerful shockwave hot as the sun, Himeko and her childhood friend were blasted apart from one another. Both of them fell hard on their stomach, she with a painful yelp, he with a loud grunt. Horror struck her as she gingerly rose to her feet and realized what had just happened. A part of the Himemiya Mansion now lay in ruins. The corner where the hallway had been was reduced to an unrecognizable heap of stones blackened with soot. There, smokes billowed. There, fire still burned.

"We've no time to waste, Himeko," Oogami Souma said while his hand brushed the dirt off his uniform. His voice was urgent, his face firm, his eyes disturbed. "Let's go. It is too dangerous to remain here."

"No! That had to be an Orochi's work. What if Chikane-chan comes back and falls into their hands?" she argued almost heatedly, which earned her a frown from the boy who had just saved her life. She felt bad for giving him trouble when he was just doing what he was asked to... but he had to understand that she wasn't going to let any harm befall her blue-haired princess. "You said it was dangerous yourself, didn't you?"

"It's not an Orochi." The boy gave her an exasperated look. She had a feeling that he knew much more than what he had chosen to reveal. "And Himemiya would be fine on her own. Forget about her."

"I'm not going anywhere until I know that Chikane-chan is safe, Sou-chan," Himeko declared in exasperation. She couldn't help but fervently wished that her childhood friend would realize that she valued her sweetheart's life much higher than she would her own.

"Then so be it." He heaved a deep sigh, sounding equally exasperated. The boy then held out his palm so that his fingertips slightly brushed against her forehead. "Please don't hate me for this."

A purple flash of light emerged from the hand of the High Priest's younger brother so quickly that it knocked her out before a feeble _"No!"_ could leave her lips.

* * *

Standing on the roof of the Himemiya Mansion, the watcher silently observed as Oogami Souma walked into a Dimensional Portal with the other girl lying unconsciously in his arms. Once the silvery surface thinned to a line in the air and vanished, the watcher's eyes fell upon her right hand, which was still shimmering with a silver light harnessed out of her own powers. Finally, she turned her gaze toward the black column of smoke rising out of the ragged hole several feet from where she stood. She did not miss by much, it appeared. Had the watcher increased her output by another fraction, had she moved her aim one inch to her left, the two of them would have been burned to cinder. Having good reflexes as Oogami was, he would not survive that. _Oogami Kazuki, Oogami Souma._ She broke into a rain of sparkling stars.

* * *

Alone in the Audience Hall save for the Crystal Orb that housed the body of Yamata no Orochi the Dark God, Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne was leaning her back against one of her wooden walls while her eyes gazed out of the open window and at the lone figure sitting in the verdant back garden of the Temple of the Dragons. It was a girl of average height who wore a cape black as the night, who had short brown hair framing a face many would consider more than good-looking but not quite beautiful, who had a toned and lithe body fit for a track-and-field athlete. That same girl, now, was sitting on a chair with her elbows propped on the table in front of her and with chin rested on her interlaced hand, appearing deeply immersed in thoughts. Her eyes, which bore the color of emeralds, seemed very troubled, though. 

Rinne only wondered why Saotome Makoto, the Orochi Eighth Head herself, looked the way she did. Yesterday, when she started to sense the life force of Girochi Tokiya and Girochi Miyako being snuffed out by the Priestess of the Moon, she had rushed to where they were immediately while hoping fervently that she could be in time. Not that she cared whether they lived or died, of course. What she was concerned about was the fact that Himemiya Chikane's celestial powers were more than capable of annihilating the disobedient Followers' souls! Rinne needed them intact. _The Dark God_ needed them intact. Which was why she was infinitely relieved upon arriving at the Garden of the Roses in Ototachibana Academy, where she found the Girochi siblings thrashing on the ground, next to the _broken_ shards of their Swords. Towering over them then was the Priestess of the Moon, face colder than eternal ice, eyes blazing with lava-hot anger, and hands raised high over head, ready to deal the finishing blow.

Needless to say, Rinne extended a hand without a second thought and delivered the Second and Third Heads out of the mess by opening a Dimensional Portal right beneath them. To her surprise, though, she almost ended up in hot soup. Himemiya Chikane, despite being caught off guard and having failed in recapturing the Heads before they vanished into the silvery surface, realized that the person who wove the Portal was still there. The girl then immediately established an immense Sealing Field upon the area in an attempt to catch whoever that was. Had Rinne not reacted quickly, she would have been turned into a fish in a net. That would have been extremely dangerous, for she had not regained enough of her strength to hold her own against the Priestess. When she did, however, it would be a different story.

Upon returning to the battlefield shortly after that, she found the True Form of the Lightning Blade slithering in the sky and Oogami Souma emerging victorious over the other three Heads. Saotome Makoto, appearing wounded, did not have any other choice except fleeing from the scene and leaving behind Kurusugawa Himeko, whom she failed to seal and protect. She had looked she same way she was now ever since. If anything, she only grew much more disturbed when she returned to the Temple of the Dragons and found the Second and Third Head dying on the bed. Had Nekoko, the owner of Arashigumo the Wind Blade, come back just a bit later, they would have. None of them was particularly pleased to learn that the Priestess of the Moon was the culprit, though. Rinne, observing them in secret as always, could see what they were thinking just by looking into their eyes. _If Himemiya Chikane could _empty-handedly_ defeat two _armed_ Orochi at the same time... what is going to happen when she reclaims her sword?_

Death to all Followers, no doubt.

Whatever the Children of the Dark God were thinking, Rinne was not displeased with this unexpected turn of events. Himemiya Chikane had regained her powers, which was what Rinne wanted. Now, all she needed was that Kurusugawa Himeko did the same. Once that happened, her wish was going to be granted.

A sudden flickering movement at the edge of her vision brought Rinne back to the back garden of the Orochi's lair. She was barely in time, in fact, to see the hem of Makoto's cape before it vanished into a Dimensional Portal, which winked out of existence one heartbeat later. Rinne gave her lips a thoughtful tap. Unless she was terribly mistaken, she had just caught a glimpse of Izumo, her old home, in the silvery surface. Not just anywhere in Heaven, but the fabled Hall of Memories itself.

_What did the Priestess of the Sun do to the girl that she had to go _there_ of all places?_ she thought. _Is it the Priestess's memory that she seeks in the Kiokkai... or someone else's?_ She was slightly worried. The Memories Sea was the one place in the Three World that could reveal the truth to the wielder of the Twilight Blade. It could tell her that she, along with her comrades as well as her liege lord, had been puppets dancing on a string, to the tune that Rinne played through her devious schemes. Not exactly the material that the girl should be privy to, of course.

She gave her head a light shake. _Heh, what am I afraid of?_ Even if Saotome Makoto learned of the secret, there was still nothing she could do to impede Rinne's plan. Besides, everything had been quite predictable so far. Some unplanned surprises would not hurt.

"Do you not think so, too, my dearest?" Rinne said to the glowing Crystal Orb, in which the body of Yamata no Orochi was immersed in a deep slumber. The thing only glowed in the silent darkness. Rinne laughed aloud.

* * *

Standing in front of the Memories Hall of Heaven, which stood in the middle of a large square the name of which was unknown to her, Saotome Makoto felt fear lurching her stomach. She wanted to know the answer to what she had seen in the red light, which had spoiled her attempt to seal the Sun Priestess, yet she was also aware that what she sought might just broke her heart in the end. 

Her lips thinned into a straight line in determination, she decided to be brave and face whatever the Sea of Memories could throw at her. Once she had Tasogare the Twilight Blade summoned into her hand from her shadow, she walked toward the Memories Hall without so much as a care for the barriers blocking her path. She stopped abruptly, however, when she heard a thunderous noise echoing endlessly above her head. Looking up, she saw a Moon Crest spinning in the cloudless blue from which a thousand bolts of silver lightning were jabbing out and ripping the sky to pieces. She blinked. _The Moon Crest? Himemiya?_

Her question was answered immediately when a figure emerged from the Crest. It was a young woman perhaps a few years older than Makoto herself, who wore a snowy hagoromo robe that was purer than any shade of white ever made, who had a face so beautiful she could make any man's throat run dry with desire, and who also looked so murderous at the moment that she made Girochi Miyako seem innocent and harmless. A Goddess, and an infuriated one at that, no doubt, she thought. Makoto would hate to meet such a woman at night on the street, whatever power she held as an Orochi Follower.

She only wondered what in goodness's name could tick off an Immortal this badly, though. Eyes tracing the descent of the woman in the snowy hagoromo, Makoto hoped the people who resided in that ridiculously huge palace in the middle of Izumo was prepared for the arrival of someone who looked as though she was going to kill whoever stood in her path.

* * *

"So, all in all, my Lord," Yuusaku the Chief of the Holy Messengers concluded his financial report on his own Divisionto an apparently bored Maker of the World, who was sitting in his armchair, back facing his humongous closed window. "The resources for the Division are quite lacking in this fiscal year. Unless the Celestial Assembly agrees to give us an additional amount of budget, a decent one may I add, I fear the Messengers would be hard-pressed in keeping up with their duties." 

"Should you not be telling _the Assembly_ that instead of me?" the Lord of Izumo said dully.

"That is exactly what I cannot do, Lord." Yuusaku sighed. "As you recall, the Division has been spending a great deal on _you-know-what_ during the last week. And since you have specifically asked your lowly servant to keep the full Chamber unaware, I could not very well waltz in there and demand more fund, now could I?"

"How much does it cost?"

"Several millions just for providing the secret pathway connecting Shingetsu Grand Shrine and Izumo, approximately." He tapped the ball of his pen on the PDA and showed the older and infinitely more powerful man a holographic screen of statistical figures. "In order to secure a Dimensional Portal that is impossible to detect in a place full of spiritualists, we have to get the whole R&D Division on it. And I wish my Lord knew how much bribe money we had to use to stuff those blood-thirsty researchers' mouths so they wouldn't come running to the Assembly when we're not looking." He uploaded another screen. "And then we have to pay the Messengers overtime, too, to make sure the spies of the Underworld were too busy to keep an eye on the Shrine. I hate to say this to you, my Lord, but my men are but exhausted. They need some kind of _encouragement_ to continue such a tedious job."

"Fine, fine," declared the Ruler of Heaven in a slightly irritated voice. "I will issue a decree to the Assembly that will increase your Division's budget."

"My gratitude to you, Lord." Yuusaku bowed where he stood and surreptitiously heaved a sigh of relief. With this, his subordinates shouldn't be coming to him and complaining about how little they were paid despite their murderous schedule anymore. Well, or so he would hope. His employees were as much bloodsucking leeches as any other in the Three World. Their greed, unlike their competence, knew no bound. He sometimes caught himself wishing he could fire the whole lot.

"What now?" The male Maker of the World raised an eyebrow at Yuusaku when the man noticed Yuusaku still had something on his mind.

"If I may inquire," Yuusaku said, "why do you insist on keeping the Assembly in the dark? I could not imagine what harms it may bring but I could certainly see how much we could save were we to..."

"Stop worrying about budgets for one second, will you? Do you not get it?" the dark-haired man, who looked as though he was old enough to be Yuusaku's younger brother, muttered darkly. "Those senile Immortals are too old-fashioned to deal with. They will make a fuss should they realize _someone_ like Yukihito is acting alone in Onogoro."

_Old-fashioned, Izanagi-sama?_ Yuusaku thought in amusement. _Wouldn't that be the pot calling the kettle black? You people are all the same!_ He held his peace, though. The Lord of Izumo, despite proclaiming democracy and freedom of speech over his Realm, appreciated those kinds of opinion as much as he would the Goddess of the Sun. Of course, that was to say, not very much.

"Although I do agree with them at some point that it is indeed a scandalous issue, Yukihito's presence in Onogoro is still necessary," the Father of All declared, his voice sounding not exactly persuasive. He didn't even seem to believe half of what he said.

_Necessary? What is?_ Yuusaku mused to himself. _You don't even let me, your long-time confidant, know why the heck you allowed such a thing to happen and you talk about necessity? _

Shaking his head slightly, he turned off the PDA and put it back inside his pocket, preparing to leave for his office. Before his could ask for his permission to go, though, the shoji doors of the Maker's study slid sideways violently to admit Tsukiyomi the Goddess of the Moon, who seemed furious enough to chew through rocks. He gritted his teeth and began to ask himself why the woman had to show up on such a beautiful day... and when she would crawl away and die like a decent human being.

"Have you no manner, Goddess of the Moon?" Yuusaku demanded with all of his authority as the Chief of the Messenger Division, the person who enforced Heaven's customs and laws. "Are you not aware you are in the presence of the Great Father? Kneel, now!"

"Silence, pitiful insect! Leave before I feed the fish with your remains." Tsukiyomi glared at him. He backed up one step. Since the woman was brimming with more than enough powers to carry out her threat and all, perhaps he should not try to remind her of his animosity toward her at this specific time. Yuusaku knew too well that maybe the Maker of the World would not stop the woman from doing that, considering how he felt about her even after all those years.

"Yuusaku will stay, Tsukiyomi," Izanagi-sama said quietly. "There is nothing that cannot be discussed in front of him."

_"Fine!"_ she shouted.

"So foul a mood you are in, daughter." The older man, who refused to look his age, frowned at the silver-haired woman. "Would you not tell me the cause?"

_"What have you done to Yui behind my back?"_ Tsukiyomi demanded heatedly. _"What have you done?" _

Yuusaku smiled. So the secret was finally out. This should be interesting to watch... He moved to a corner in the far side of the room for safety measure, though. The other two were speaking loud enough to be heard from there anyway... and besides, by staying as far away from them as possible, he ran much less a risk of being struck by the spells that they might just throw at one another in their anger. It was certainly more than likely in his mind.

"What do you mean, Tsukiyomi?" replied the adoptive father of the Goddess of the Moon. Yuusaku resisted the urge to scoff aloud at the other man's attempt to feign ignorance and wondered why he couldn't just take it and admit the truth like a real man. On his second thought, though, he began to understand why the Ruler of Heaven couldn't bring himself to. It couldn't be helped, really, for this one Maker of the World was still head over heels in love with the girl whom he coerced into swearing an oath to become his daughter... and sister to the one woman she didn't want to be. Everybody knew that the bravest man would turn to jelly in front of his love, after all. To such a rule, an Immortal was no exception, even if that same Immortal ruled the Heavenly Palace.

"You know better than anyone, _father_," Tsukiyomi snapped. "I'm talking about _you_ violating _our_ pact! You promised me that if I played the role of an obedient daughter well, if I stayed away from Yui, you would _not_ harm her, _did you not?_"

"I did," the Lord of Izumo admitted, his face darkening, his hands clenching into fists atop his humongous desk. The man was taking this better than Yuusaku expected. Had it been any other person, woman or no, the Ruler of Heaven would have burned them into ashes where they stood.

Holding his hand over his mouth, Yuusaku chuckled softly enough to not be heard. This _show_ was very amusing indeed. The silly _pact_ they spoke of, agreed upon several millennia ago, had been what tormenting Tsukiyomi every moment she woke, and Yuusaku was grateful for it. Since Izanagi-sama was pretty much driven insane by the jealousy for his own daughter, the Goddess of the Sun, it did not help much to learn than the silver-haired woman only saved him because she wanted to go back to the former. That was like pouring oil into the already roaring fire, Yuusaku guessed. The Maker of the World had tried something very drastic then. The man _threatened_ Tsukiyomi that unless she wanted to see Amaterasu killed, she had better make sure the latter would never learn how much she loved her. That was why Tsukiyomi had been playing the good daughter up until now, why the golden-haired woman still lived despite the _hatred_ her blood father had for her.

Despite the fact that Yuusaku himself would never use such an underhanded and dirty method to separate the two, he couldn't deny that it did the job. After all, his liege lord's will had been thoroughly carried out, his message that perfectly conveyed to the woman he loved. She knew now that if she refused to belong to him, she would be to none. The other man made a mistake by _not_ killing both of them, though. Thanks to his weakness, he was forced to see how Tsukiyomi's love for the Goddess of the Sun never stopped growing. Perhaps he had succeeded in making the silver-haired Goddess suffer, he failed in stopping himself from doing the same thing. The Lord of Izumo, reduced to a sop whenever it came to the woman who rescued him from the Underworld, couldn't see how revolting those two daughters of his were the way they clung onto their abnormal love. He couldn't force himself to destroy them, either, as he was supposed to. All he could do was keeping them away from each other while his heart's wound bleed more and more within every passing day.

_Pitiful_ was what he was.

"Then why is there a Curse Mark on Yui's body?" Tsukiyomi slammed both of her hands upon the top of the desk, her whole body trembling in rage. _"Why?"_

"Amaterasu told you?" replied the older man in a calm voice, the same one that he used whenever he thought of murder. Yuusaku had been in his service to far too long to not know that. If Amaterasu had an ounce of common sense, she would find a way to escape from the Three Worlds and never return. Not that he would give her such an advice, of course.

"She did not," the Goddess of the Moon declared, looking as though she just wanted to reach for her father's throat and rip it off with her bare hand. Judging by his reaction, which involved the Ruler of Izumo reclined a little bit more against his high-backed armchair, he obviously believed that she would. "Had I not found her collapsing and almost burned to death, I would never have known. Now, _father, answer my question!"_ The unvoiced _"or else"_ part whispered across the room.

"Collapsing... almost burned to death..." the Maker of the World murmured softly as he gave his lips a thoughtful tap. At which point he turned to Yuusaku, eyebrows raised in puzzlement. He sighed before he sent the other man a telepathic message that consisted of only one phrase, _Internal impacts._ "Oh, I see." Any other man in the Lord of Izumo's place would have pounded a fist onto his hand and exclaimed as though struck by divine revelation.

_"Father!" _

"What are you making it a big deal for? She is not dead yet, is she? I upheld my end of the bargain, I believe." A smile crossed the man's lip. Nothing could have pleased him more than the knowledge that his spell, cast a few thousand years ago, had managed to torture the person who held the heart of the woman he loved. Not that he ever expected such a thing to happen when he planted the Curse upon Amaterasu's body, of course.

_"You call torturing Yui _upholding_ your end?"_ Tsukiyomi snarled viciously at the man she rescued from the impenetrable fortress of the Underworld. Yuusaku was willing to wager his next month's salary that the woman had come to regret her action ever since. _"How dare you?" _With her silver aura suddenly blazing around her hagoromo-clad frame, she seemed more than ready to unleash her powers and destroy the Lord of Izumo where he sat. Yuusaku could even sense energy building up within the latter. His liege lord obviously was preparing for the worst case. He himself considered leaving the room without permission and putting as much distance between him and the Heavenly Palace as he could.

"Mind your language, Tsukiyomi," the Ruler of Heaven whispered dangerously. "Do not assume that I will tolerate your behaviors more than I have to."

"Someone who goes back on his own words is in no position to tell me that, _father_." The woman sneered at her last word.

"For your information, that Curse has nothing to do with out pact. It is but a punishment."

_"You punished your daughter by endangering her life?" _the silver-haired High Immortal shouted. _"For what?"_

_For trying to sabotage Project Kannazuki, don't you know?_ Yuusaku thought. Again, he held his peace. One word out and losing his tongue was the last thing he would need to worry about.

"It is none of your concern," Izanagi-sama said coldly.

_"Of course it is!"_ Tsukiyomi yelled at the other man at the top of her lungs._ "I have been living for no other purpose than keeping her alive for my entire life! Are you too blind to see?"_

Just as the drama was getting to the good part, a showdown between the alleged father and daughter, a message arrived in his PDA and made it tremble in his coat pocket. When he pulled the device out and examined the sender's identity, he realized that it was from the Intelligence Directorate of the Division of which he was in charge. He frowned. It was indeed unusual that his subordinates didn't wait until he got back there to deliver the news. It had to be something very urgent then, he decided. When he was done reading the message, he felt his mouth hanging in shock.

"My... my Lord," he stuttered, "something's wrong with the Priestess of the Moon. She's not following the guidelines of the Project anymore!"

_"What?"_ Both the Maker of the World and his so-called daughter whipped their heads toward him. Under their penetrating gazes, one hotter than molten lava, one colder than arctic ice, he wished he had not uttered a word.

* * *

After half an hour fiddling with the functions of the One Terminal without any positive result, Saotome Makoto became deeply frustrated. Although she located the memory sphere of Kurusugawa Himeko, her former roommate and her secret crush, as easily as she did Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne's the last time she was here, she failed to access it. Every time her consciousness forced its way into the sphere to read its content, it exploded immediately and splashed the water all over her cape. Although she dried it off with her powers the first few times, she stopped eventually upon realizing that she was just wasting her power. Now, she was soaked from her head to her toes... while her temper was burning like wildfire within her body. If she didn't find something to vent her anger on soon, she might just explode where she stood. 

Her eyes fell on the One Terminal, the sole object on this floating platform.

_"Damn!"_ Makoto kicked the block of crystal as hard as she could.

"That is exactly why we do not let people use the Terminal without supervision," a man's voice said coolly behind her back. "When they get mad, they hit it."

Startled, she drew Tasogare from her shadow and made a spiral slash while spinning on her heel. To her shock, her sword stroke couldn't do anything to the mysterious man, for he managed to catch Tasogare's blade between his thumb and index finger with contemptuous ease. The intruder was a very handsome young man who was taller than her by a head, who could made Oogami Souma look like a grain of sand beside a sparkling diamond. Short but glossy black hair framing a face so cool, calm and collected that he appeared as unshakable as the building within which they now stood. And if Makoto was surprised by his good looks, she was frightened silly by the powers she sensed within him. Weak as he might seem, he had more than thrice the amount of her powers. If he so desired, he could crush her like an insect.

"Unlike Kagutsuchi-san, I do not think violent girls are cute," the man announced in a calm voice. Listening to him alone, no one could have thought that he was empty-handedly facing someone with a Sword. "And be warned, I hit anyone who hit me, woman or not." He released her Sword and acted as though it wasn't there. The Twilight Blade, sharp enough to cut through cold steel and had sufficient power to level a city to the ground, might as well never have existed.

Knowing that Tasogare would do her no good against such an overwhelming opponent, Makoto let it sink back into the shadow from where it came while fixing her eyes on the Immortal who had caught her off-guard and made her feel like a criminal who was facing the noose. The thought invoked the anger that had been nettling her heart ever since her failure to access Sun Priestess's the memory sphere.

"Who are you, sneaking up to me like that?" Makoto demanded as she glared at the man.

"Rude," the man commented. "Is that how mortals behave nowadays, not introducing themselves before they ask for other people's name?" He pinched her nose playfully afterwards, much to her shock.

Furious, she tried to slap the back of his hand. Since the man withdrew it in time, she missed and made a fool out of herself while he laughed out loud. Her hands curled into fists. Were he not a more powerful opponent, she would have... she would have...

"I am Susanou, the God of Storms, also the Keeper of this Hall," he announced. "You may address me without any honorifics."

"I don't give a damn who you are." Makoto blushed when she noticed the man's widening smile. His eyes, dark and penetrating like the tip of a sword, seemed to be saying, _"Are you not contradicting what you said earlier?"_ "Now make way, I want to leave," she said in sheer stubbornness while feeling as though her face were on fire.

"As you wish." He stood aside, giving her full access to the silvery surface of the Dimensional which he blocked just a heartbeat before.

Makoto was surprised by the man's action. Letting her go this easily was not what she expected of him, despite the fact that it was what she demanded. After all, he was the keeper of this place and she an intruder. He should be doing his best to destroy her instead of treating her like a guest. Not that she wanted him to, of course. She still valued her life... and she still hoped that she could win over Himeko's heart. She couldn't die here. Head buzzing with questions, she started toward the silvery surface.

"But do tell, kiddo, are you not interested in what lay within the memory of the Priestess of the Sun?" Susanou said just before she managed to walk past him, sounding as though he was musing to himself. His eyes were riveted on her, though, while the corners of his mouth curved upward to form an almost smile. She stopped dead in her track.

"You... you have been watching, haven't you?" Makoto demanded. "And don't call me kiddo!"

"What can stop me?" Susanou, who was now standing less than a foot away from her, said, obviously enjoying himself. Up close, he even appeared even more handsome, if that was possible. Despite her irritation toward the man, she still sensed her heart skipping a beat. "Have you any idea how old I am?"

Makoto couldn't say anything in response. She really had forgotten that she was dealing with an Immortal. The man must have lived for at least thousands of years already, so to him, she was no different from a kid.

"Again, are you interested?" It took her a few seconds to realize what the man was referring to.

"I am, but... I can't view Himeko's memory," she admitted grudgingly.

"You never _bothered_ to read the instruction before you tampered with the One Terminal did you, child?" the God of Storms answered, his smile growing broader and much more amused. Makoto gritted her teeth in anger as she shook her head.

"No wonder, then," Susanou said and tapped his finger gently on the surface of the crystal block. A blue holographic screen scribbled with a lot of words flashed into life above it. "Feel free to read, little one." Makoto chew on her underlip and decided that she wasn't going to let his taunts get on her nerves. It was much more difficult than she had thought, though.

After she had moved closer to the screen, she began to read. She didn't trust the Keeper of the Hall a hair more than she did when she first saw him, however, so she spared a few seconds once in a while to watch him. Susanou did nothing but studying her, however, smiling as though he was amused by that he was looking at. Well, much as it irritated Makoto, she soon forgot about him altogether as she realized what _conditions_ must be met if someone wished to view a person's memory in the Kiokkai. Her eyes widened as far as they could at the newly found knowledge. According to what was written here, the Dark God couldn't possibly use what he had ordered her to retrieve. Unless... A very horrible explanation dawned on her.

Makoto touched the Terminal again and entered a new search phrase. The result, which came back in the blink of an eye, left her mouth hanging.

"Impossible... Impossible!" she muttered, feeling cold sweat run down her back.

"It indeed is." The Keeper of the Hall laughed softly at seeing her expression. "So do you see now that it is impossible for you to seek the truth through the Memories Sphere?"

Still under the shock of the revelation, she could only nod.

"What would you say, however, were I to inform you that there is _another_ way for you to learn what you wish to?" Susanou asked, his dark eyes riveted on her, demanding for answers. Somehow, she was under the impression that he had already known what it was going to be.

Struggling visibly with herself, she forced her mouth to form the words, "I... I would ask you... humbly for it."

"That would not do." The man shook his head. "There is nothing free in this world. There is a payment for everything. If you desire my knowledge, you must pay my price." His dark eyes glittered and the corner of his mouth quirked upward in a satisfied smile. He seemed to believe that Makoto would pay no matter what.

Suddenly feeling a pang of fear in her heart, she swallowed audibly. There was but a few things a man could want from a woman, especially if said man and woman were alone in a place none other was going to visit.

"What's your price?" she demanded.

"Your name," Susanou said simply. She gaped at him. _That's it?_ she thought.

"Makoto," she muttered grudgingly in the end. "Saotome Makoto."

"Payment accepted." The handsome Immortal, whose smile never left his hateful mouth, placed his palm atop the One Terminal, into which it sank until the man's hand was inside all the way to his wrist. _"Username: Susanou no Mikoto. Authorization Level: Keeper of the Hall. Requesting access,"_ he said in a commanding voice, which boomed in the dimensional space confined within the Memories Hall. Makoto suspected that Susanou was showing off, for he winked at her afterwards. Whatever the man was thinking, she was neither impressed nor amused.

"Voice confirmation matched. Access granted," a dull voice replied from within the rectangular Terminal.

_Now_ Makoto was impressed. From beneath the endlessly vast ocean before them, an obelisk-like structure rose up high into the sky and sent crashing waves everywhere in the process. It was made purely of crystal, five times as wide as the platform on which Makoto and Susanou stood and a hundred times as high as it was wide. Midway up its shaft, there was a huge platinum ring bearing two vertical and circular plates opposing one another, one carved into the shape of the Sun Crest, the other, the Moon. Without the slightest sound, the massive ring slowly revolved around the obelisk, which gleamed brilliantly in the light of the Memories Sea. Slabs of smooth stone extended from the platform then, forming a bridge to the crystal structure.

"Welcome to the land of dark fairytales, where there is no Prince to save Snow White from her death, where there is no Knight to wake Sleeping Beauty." The Immortal offered her a deep, formal bow while his hand made a flourishing movement over his head. "Welcome to Kannazuki. Welcome to the Tower of Agony."

* * *

Pacing the length of the Enshrinement Chamber of Shingetsu, Kurusugawa Himeko was deeply disturbed. Upon awaking about half an hour ago, she had found herself inside the stone chamber, which was empty save the Shinken Seals and the eternal ice pillar that they safeguarded. Of course, since the first thing that came to her mind was the safety of her blue-haired princess, she immediately started for the exit so that she could leave and start looking for the love of her life. She was stopped in her track as soon as she reached the stone slight of stair leading back to the surface, for the High Priest was there, blocking her way. His expression, stern and knowing, showed that he was fully aware of her intentions... and that there was no way in hell he'd let her do as she wished. It was then that she discovered how immovable Oogami Kazuki could be when he had put his foot down. 

_What's wrong with them anyway?_ she thought. Tried as she might, she couldn't figure out why the Oogami brothers did everything in their power to stop her from looking for her sweetheart. Of course, with the both of them keeping their mouth shut as vigorously as a mussel when she demanded to know why she had to be kept here – she had elected not to use the word _imprisoned_ despite its being more accurate – or where Chikane-chan was, she doubted that she would learn it any time soon. She muttered darkly under her breath. The only thing that Oogami-sense deigned to tell her was that she was in great danger and that she had to stay here until it was safe again. When she asked him when that was going to be, he only gave her an ominous look and leave.

Determined to find the person she loved, she had tried to sneak out despite the High Priest's warnings. To her unpleasant surprise, there were guards sitting every dozen steps or so on the stair leading to the surface. Oogami-sensei was serious about confining her in the Chamber, it appeared.

Tired, bored, exasperated, frustrated, and worried for the sake of her sweetheart at the same time, Himeko squatted down in a corner and buried her face in the curve of her arms. _Chikane-chan, where are you?_ she thought.

As if it was a summons, she heard the sounds of footsteps echoing in from the dark stairway. A heartbeat later, the slender figure of the blue-haired princess emerged from the entrance of the Enshrinement Chamber, her face worried, her sapphire eyes filled with concerned. Himeko's heart leapt into her throat. Joy overwhelmed her.

"Chikane-chan!" she called, sensing tears welling up as she bound to her feet and hurried toward the girl she loved. She almost fell a few times before she found herself cuddled in the blue-haired princess's heartwarming and gentle embrace. "Chikane-chan!" she called again as tears streaked down her cheeks, as she put her arms around her secret crush's back and hugged her as tightly. Not saying anything, the taller girl simply held her and combed her hand through Himeko's golden tresses. "Thank the Gods you are okay, Chikane-chan," she sobbed. "I have so many things I want to tell you." Before she could open her mouth again and tell her sweetheart how much she loved her, though, a gentle finger was laid against her lips. She fell silent, then.

"I regret to say that this is not the time," said the heiress of the Himemiya while releasing Himeko from her embrace. Her facial expression was grim, her jaw set with determination. Standing with her body less than an inch away, the blue-haired princess seemed almost afraid.

"Why?" Himeko asked, still hearing every particle of her existence ringing out in the need to hold, to touch, to caress, and to kiss the one she loved. She barely could control herself. Ever since last night, when she first returned to the Himemiya Mansion and found that Chikane-chan wasn't home, she had been thinking about what she wanted to say once she found the light of her world... and what she wanted to do once she had gotten her feelings across. Never once did she imagine that nothing went according to plan. Their reunion did not happen in the princess's room, where she hoped to receive her first kiss, where she hoped to spend the first night together with the person with whom she was going to spend the rest of her natural life. Their reunion had to happen while she was confined in the secret Chamber of Shingetsu Grand Shrine, where she was kept against her wish.

"Shingetsu in under siege," Chikane-chan replied in a grave tone. "The Orochi have arrived and they mean to take us. We must leave at once."

"But... but..." Himeko stuttered, "the sensei told me to remain here at all cost!"

"He sent me here with a different order, now," said the taller girl. "Come with me quickly before the Orochi find us." She took Himeko's hand and pulled her toward the far side of the Chamber. She blinked.

"Aren't we going the wrong way, Chikane-chan? The exit is over there!"

"We cannot use that route." The Himemiya princess shook her magnificent head. "The Followers would be right on top of us if we do. I know of a safer passage to get us out of here." She stopped in front of the tall, rocky wall the surface of which was torn by cracks. More disturbingly, Himeko noticed that all those cracks, sharp, deep, and spanning out from one single point, resembled the jagged shape of lightning bolts. They seemed as though they were just formed recently, too, so she could only wondered what could have inflicted them upon one of the walls of the Grand Shrine's most secret chambers.

Appearing oblivious of the cracks, the blue-haired girl placed her right palm upon the wall and pressed. Surprisingly, a circular part of the wall sank in at the contact at the same time that thunderous noises filled the quiet chamber. Several seconds afterwards, a slab of stone swing opened a few feet to their left and revealed a flight of stair leading upward. Himeko gasped. It had to be some sort of emergency escape root, she was sure. What she didn't understand was the fact that the High Priest never informed them of its existence. _Maybe he never thought that we had to use it one day,_ she decided.

"Hurry!" Chikane-chan urged.

Wasting no more time, Himeko began climbing the stairs with her sweetheart. The higher they went, the further they ran up the steps, the more tired she became and the more she wished that she had been exercising instead of reading manga and magazine all the time. Ahead of her was the Priestess of the Moon, who didn't seem to have any trouble running at top speed. While Himeko's breathing was heavy and irregular, the princess's was calm and even as though she was but taking a leisurely walk. _Chikane-chan sure is strong,_ she mused to herself.

To Himeko's relief, the sun light emerged after a winding turn of the stairway. A dozen more steps brought them out of the passage and onto the surface. Himeko found herself standing in a luxuriant glade surrounded by tall trees that made up the forest behind the Grand Shrine. On high, the midday sun was shining amid a deep azure sky scarred by no cloud. Down low, a gentle wind was blowing across the land and caressing her golden tresses. The air was cool and still, completely undisturbed by any sounds save the chirping of the birds and the rustling of the leaves. When she turned her head and looked, she found the tall roofs of Shingetsu, upon which fire didn't burn, smoke didn't billow, and light didn't flash the way they always did when the Followers decided to demonstrate their might.

There was not a single sign of an Orochi attack.

When Himeko's attention once again settled upon the one she loved, she realized that the blue-haired princess was studying her openly with an unreadable expression on her face. Her sapphire eyes, once troubled and tinted with fear, now seemed cold enough to freeze water. She gave Himeko the creeps.

"Chikane-chan?" she said. It suddenly occurred to her, however, that despite her calling her sweetheart's name many times since she first appeared in the Enshrinement Chamber, the other girl never did hers even _once_. "Are you sure that the Orochi is laying siege on the Shrine?"

"They are?" the heiress of the Himemiya asked, sounding surprised. "Who told you that?"

Himeko blinked and answered slowly, "You." She could smell the wrongness permeating the air. She could sense danger lurking behind every tree. She could feel powers stirring within the blue-haired princess. Suddenly, she could no longer hear the birds' songs. Even the winds had stopped blowing. The atmosphere, once soothing, now seemed heavy as a boulder of rock.

"Did I?" Chikane-chan gave her lips a thoughtful tap. "Perhaps. I am sorry." To Himeko's shock, malevolence curved her sweetheart's mouth into a smile cruel beyond any description. She instinctively took a step backward while feeling her heart quickening and cold sweat running down her back. Never before had the blue-haired girl seemed more frightening. Never before had she appeared more murderous. _"I lied."_

"You're joking, right?" Himeko gave a nervous laugh. She _hoped_ that the love of her life was.

"You truly believe that I am?" said the Priestess of the Moon, who walked toward Himeko as she spoke.

While the girl seemed to be enjoying herself immensely, Himeko was not. Her body was tense, her mind was racked with fear, and her heart was galloping fast enough to beat a race horse. For reasons that she failed to comprehend, however, she was unable to move a muscle. For all she knew, she could have been a tree rooted deeply into the ground. A tree that her princess appeared to want to cut off.

"Your innocence never ceased to amaze me," said Chikane-chan, who was now standing in front of Himeko, their body but an inch apart. The former, unexpectedly, raised her hand to trace Himeko's eyebrows, caress her cheeks, cup her chin, and finally lift it up. The taller girl's lips, now opening slightly to reveal two perfect rows of white teeth, began to brush against Himeko's forehead while her vacant hand placed firmly on her back and trapped her within the curve of a steely arm.

Despite having desired physical intimacy from the girl she loved most for nearly as long as she knew her, Himeko didn't feel particularly happy under Chikane-chan's touches. Sure, her caresses were gentle and sensual, her voice alluring enough to belong to a girl who was whispering words of love to her sweetheart, but they far from produced the effects that Himeko thought they would. What coursed in her veins right now was neither pleasure nor comfort... but terrible fright that kept urging her to run away. Perhaps she would have... had she figured out why her legs refused to obey.

"I know." The blue-haired princess's smile grew broader and much more vicious as her face drew nearer still. "I will give you a reward for your being just so cute, my dear _A-ka-ri_." She kissed Himeko fully on the lips.

Her eyes sprang open in shock at the contact. Conjuring every ounce of strength in her body, she pushed the blue-haired girl away. Afterwards, she collapsed onto her knees with hands clutching her neck tightly enough to break it. Her lips were on fire, her throat in flames, and her eyes infested with a dizzying amount of colorful butterflies. What the blue-haired princess had just offered her wasn't a kiss, but a heavy dose of sheer malice and darkest intentions. During the split second that their lips touched, a current of frightening visions from the other girl had swept through her minds, informing her of what the blue-haired princess was thinking of in her head. Himeko's stomach heaved and threatened to empty itself. What she had seen included images in which her most important person was either tearing her clothes apart or ravaging her naked body while she screamed out in horror and pain and begged the other girl to stop. She never did.

"How unsightly," commented the Priestess of the Moon, whose feet, adorned with white stockings and a pair of tabi sandals, were the only things that Himeko saw. Looking up, she found the towering figure of Chikane-chan, whose slender body was graced by the white chihaya and the red hibakama of _Himeko's_ Priestess outfit. Her face was icy and steely. "Is that how you would react to a kiss from your lover, Akari? Do you know how much you have hurt my feelings?" She did sound offended... yet her sapphire eyes, which made her face seem warm, sent a completely different message. They were _smiling_.

"Akari?" Himeko repeated, feeling a strange sense of familiarity at the name she just uttered. She couldn't understand why the blue-haired princess called her that, though.

"You are not going to tell me that you have forgotten your own name, are you?" said the taller girl, her voice containing the full strength of an arctic blast. She made Himeko want to run her hands up and down her arms to warm herself up.

"I... don't understand what you meant, Chikane-chan," replied Himeko, who was trying not to cry. _What has happened to her?_ she thought while rising to her feet. Her wobbly knees made it a very difficult task.

"I see. Your memory of the past is no longer there, is it?" The heiress of the Himemiya gave a deep disappointed sigh. "How sad."

"The past?" Immediately after she had spoken, she found herself wishing that she had not. Her internal organs turned into ice at a sharp look from the blue-haired girl. Had she not been having trouble standing erect, she would have stepped back to shy away from those fierce and prickly sapphire eyes. She began to panic. The Chikane-chan she knew always looked at her gently. She always treated her with friendship more valuable than gold and respect due a princess. That Chikane-chan, at this very moment, was gone and replaced by an imperious girl whose soul seemed to be carved from ice.

_"Yes, a past where you and I were once inseparable." _Her hands rose in front of her chest, her palms facing one another while her fingers curled inward as though she was holding an invisible sphere. A second later, a flash emerged from within her grasp and formed a sphere of silver light so bright that it made the midday sun look dark. At the appearance of the thing, winds began to blow again. They sang softly in a sorrowful melody into Himeko's ears. They wreathed around her sweetheart's body, brushing her luxuriant blue hair and caressing her Priestess outfit. Seemingly unaware of what was happening around her, Chikane-chan simply fixed her eyes upon the sphere of light, face so dreamy that anyone could have sworn the girl was looking at a picture of her lover._ "A past where we spent our days in endless joy, where we lived our lives in eternal blessing." _

Her sapphire eyes turned to Himeko while she held the sphere closer to her heart. The wind died.

_"But then, it is also a past where you betrayed me by breaking our vows, where you tortured me by smothering my hopes and dreams."_ the Priestess of the Moon spoke softly, her voice containing a mountain of knives, a sky of thunder, a sea of fierce waves. _"It is I, Kannazuki Aoi, the one whose life you shattered, whose future you destroyed."_ Her sweetheart's grasp tightened... and the sphere exploded.

"No... it's not true!" Himeko screamed. "It's not true!"

The taller girl only threw back her head and laughed.

* * *

Standing inside Kannazuki, what he himself dubbed the Tower of Agony, Susanou no Mikoto the God of Storm quietly observed the Orochi Follower who had willingly stepped into his office to seek an answer that she was not supposed to know. Saotome Makoto, clad in a cape the color of which was too dreary for a girl her age in his opinion, was looking at the interior of the Tower with open horror on her youthful face. The more she studied its walls, the more frightened she grew, and the paler she looked. 

_She is sharp,_ he mused to himself. The brown-haired, emerald-eyed girl, seemed to have noticed the existence of _something_ whose powers penetrated every particle of the Tower of Kannazuki the way she tried to scan every direction at once. A few minutes later, she managed to locate it. Once she raised her head and directed her gaze upward, her jaw fell and her eyes became two large pool of emerald light on a face stricken with terror. As expected of the wielder of the Twilight Blade, she managed to locate the whereabouts of the engine that empowered the machinations of this Tower, something not even a fraction of Izumo's populace was capable of.

"What... is that?" she mumbled in a trembling voice. Despite having a pride fit for a Goddess, she could not help but feel intimidated by the presence of the most powerful magical entity in the Creation Realm, it would seem. Not that he would look down at her for that. For goodness's sake, he himself did not fare any better the first time he walked in here with the former Keeper of the Hall and saw for himself what it was that kept the Kiokkai functioning. When he came back to his own room in the Palace, he had fallen sick for a full day.

"It is called the Mirror of Life, youngling," he answered, "the energy source of the hidden Dimension inside the Hall, that which draws in the memories of all living beings in the Three Worlds."

"Memories?" she blinked at him, evidently surprised. "What does the Mirror of _Life_ have to do with _memories_?"

"Because one's memories are the proof of one's existence," he took up his favorite lecturing tone, which did not seem to improve the girl's opinion of him in the least bit. She sniffed disapprovingly at him in response. "Without a record of what one goes through in life, a person is but an empty vessel wandering through the dark eternity."

She sniffed again, clearly trying to demonstrate how much she cared for his explanations. Her eyes, intently on him, told him how much she was interested. He chuckled, which earned him a hard stare from her, and thought that perhaps all women were never true to themselves.

"To put in layman terms," he continued, his tone unchanged, "Inochi no Kagami is the Entity that controls a mortal's life, which in turn oversees its core, _memories_."

"_Control_ our lives?" she said dangerously, her voice bearing the quality of the sound of an unsheathing sword.

"By that I mean _decide one's path when one stands at the crossroads of destiny_," Susanou answered. "When a man dies, his memories shall be judged by the Celestial Assembly. They are those who will pass the final judgment whether that man will return to the Cycle of Death and Rebirth, fall into the depth of the Underworld for repentance, or in some rare cases, elevated to the ranks of the Gods. Once the decision has been made, it shall be carried out by the Mirror of Life."

"Is that so?" Saotome Makoto muttered noncommittally.

"What you are concerned with is not the _main_ function of Inochi no Kagami, Makoto," he reminded her and received another sharp look. He could see that she did not like being addressed by her given name. Not that he was about to stop, though. "Tell me, child, what are those things that revolve around the Mirror?"

"Two large crosses locked in chains," she muttered. He was certain that she had noticed that those chains she mentioned were directly connected to First Supreme, too.

"Altars," Susanou tutored. He even began to think that those pointed looks she kept throwing at him were cute. "They are the tools with which the Immortals of Heaven used to _bind_ a certain couple, _seal_ them, and _lock_ them in here until the time comes for them to walk the Human World once more. Care to guess who?"

She gasped, and he smiled. The girl was indeed intelligent. She had figured out the identities of the couple he just spoke of. He wished he had someone just as smart in the Battalion that he controlled.

"That is correct, Makoto," he intoned as he raised his hand so that his palm now faced upward. From it, a sphere of white light emerged. In it was an image of what was once here seventeen years ago, before the rebirth of the Priestesses of Kannazuki, the Maidens of the Swords.

A gasp of horror escaped from the Eighth Head's mouth the moment she laid eyes upon the content of the light sphere he held atop his hand.

"Are you ready for the most inhuman secret of Heaven, little one?" he asked. "Are you prepared to learn the reason to the Priestesses of the Sun and Moon's existence?"

She nodded, for the first time ever appearing truly interested in what he had to offer.

Pleased, he told her the truth. When he was done, he found tears trickling uncontrollably down her cheeks. When he revealed to her what was going to happen in the near future, she let out an agonized wail and ran toward the exit. He left the Tower of Kannazuki just in time to see the girl vanish into the Dimensional Portal. Placing his hand atop the One Terminal again, he commanded it to let the Tower sink back into the depth of the Sea of Memories. As the crystal structure slowly submerged beneath the waves, he put his hands into his pocket and walked out of the Hall. His office hours had just ended, right on cue.

_Saotome Makoto, such a lovely name,_ he thought.

* * *

Her eyes riveted on the face of the girl who was now standing opposite her, Kannazuki Aoi found herself smiling in satisfaction. Kannazuki Akari, the Priestess of the Sun, the reincarnation of Aoi's past-life beloved, the one who now called herself Kurusugawa Himeko, the girl who once shared a family name with Aoi despite them being not related by blood, was still shaking her head in denial. The girl did not seem able to believe a word of what Aoi had told her. More like she was forcing herself not to, Aoi supposed. She should definitely try harder, then. After all, since she had made decision, there was no other way for her except following it through. The tragedy that had lasted three thousand years and spawned agony beyond belief... it was high time it ended. 

"You seem unwell, Akari." She smiled. At the speed of a bullet, she allowed her body to traverse the space between them. In less than the blink of an eye, the golden-haired girl's tender, warm, and fragrant body fell into the curve of Aoi's embrace, unable to escape. Slipping an arm around the little angel's slim waist, Aoi cupped her delicate chin and gently lift it up. Upon a face that was radiating utmost fear she found a pair of amethyst crystals more mysterious than the dead of night and deeper than any ocean on Earth. "Will another kiss help?" A face drew closer.

"No!" she screamed and struggled to set herself free, struggled to avoid being kissed. From the way she acted, anyone could have sworn that Aoi was some sort of fatal disease.

She only spared the golden-haired girl an annoyed look before she withdrew her arms and let go of her prey. As a result, Akari lost her balance and fell on her face upon the soft grassy ground. When Aoi squatted down near the golden-haired little angel, she heard soft cries escaping the girl's dirt-ridden lips. She found herself smiling again. Those faint mutters of a hurting soul, those painful whispers of an agonizing heart... sounded _adorable_ coming from the reincarnation of the person she loved. Those sparkling tears flowing down the Priestess of the Sun's stained cheeks, those liquid crystals shinier than any diamond made by the hands of mortals... were just _lovely_ enough to drive any man delirious with desires.

"Ne, Akari." She used a white piece of cloth, which she wove from a flash of silver light, to dab at the other girl's face and lips. "What are you crying for?" she asked in a calm yet dangerous voice, the voice she never once used to address the girl to whom she once pledged her heart and her immortal soul. Much had changed during the course of three thousand years, of course. "Answer me, will you?"

"I ask what you are crying for, do you not hear me?" She grabbed Akari by the collar and hauled her to her feet. The Priestess of the Sun only looked at Aoi with her teary amethyst eyes in response, her lovely mouth unable to utter anything except for unintelligible words. Judging by the way her lips were moving, though, Aoi would guess that the little angel had meant to say, _'Why are you doing this, Chikane-chan?'_ Why indeed...

"Three thousand years have come and gone, Akari, yet you are still bawling like a baby just as you were when I saw you last," she commented, her voice growing colder with every word she spoke. "You never change, do you? Childish, selfish, and uncaring of the feelings of others. Why do you cry now, when the person who should be doing that is _I?_ Answer me!"

"I don't understand... Chikane-chan..." the Priestess of the Sun managed between her sobs. Her hands, which one hung limply at her side, rose up in an attempt to reach for Aoi's cheeks. "I don't understand any thing at all..." A flare of silver light mercilessly hurled those trembling hands away before they could touch her. From the way the little angel closed her eyes, from which tears spilled out in streams, and bit on her underlip afterwards, Aoi would say that it must have hurt. Not just physically, of course.

"I forgot," Aoi whispered coldly. "You are but a shadow of your former self and no more than a vessel devoid of your past-life memory. Let me remind you, then, of what was, is, and will be happening, _to you_."

She unlatched her fingers from the golden-haired girl's collars. Against gravity, her body started to rise and did not stop until her feet were dangling at least a dozen feet above the grassy ground. Out of nowhere, thin ribbons made from silver light emerged, tied themselves onto Akari's arms and legs, and then pulled them wide apart. A little bit more strength put in those ribbons, a little bit tighter they should tug, and the little angel would be ripped into five pieces. Not that Aoi wanted that to happen, however. The game had just begun... and besides, her goals had yet to be achieved. Until they were, there would be no killing. Until then, no one was going to die.

With a sphere of light hovering atop her right palm, she elevated her body to the same height as that of the reincarnation of her sweetheart, whose round, shiny tears were still dripping off her stunning face.

"Listen and listen well, Akari," Aoi commanded. The sphere began to shine more brightly than ever as a faint whisper echoed across the land.

_"Under this starlit night, by all the constellations reigning the beautiful sky, to one another we pledge our hearts, we offer our souls._ _Until the end of time, we vow to stay as one, in life or in death, in sickness or in health. There shall not be a moment in which we part. There shall not be a day in which our love is gone. May our earnest wish be granted by the Gods above, may our Fate be tied by the Weaver of Destiny, forever and ever" _

"That is... that is..." Akari muttered in plain disbelief. She had realized that what she just heard was recited by two distinct voices, one of which was the same as her very own. It was as though she herself had said it.

_"Voices of the past, yours and mine."_ Aoi undid the orb of light. _"Recorded from three thousand years in the shadow of the ages. Under the warm roof of the Lunar Shrine, under the care of our motherly mentor Tsukiyomi-sama the Moon Goddess, we grew up as childhood friends and sweethearts. We were so happy then, two maidens too fascinated with one another to resist the ever-growing feelings inside our hearts. It was inevitable. Yet, along with love came the anxiety. We knew it was forbidden by the Laws of Heaven for two girls to fall in love. We were but aware of the disaster waiting to snatch us into its midst should we be found out. There were times I cried by myself in the dark, fearful of the day the Immortals killed us both for our grievous sin, of the day they took you away from me. Yet, you were there, my beloved Akari, the center of my world, the heart of my light." _

_"Yes, you were there for me,"_ Aoi murmured as she leaned in to kiss the other girl on the cheek. The way the Priestess of the Sun shied away from her afterward and the way she shivered as though she had just been stripped naked in the heart of winter told Aoi that the amount of malice she put into the kiss had not gone to waste. She smiled. _"The only thing Kannazuki Aoi was good at was acting strong while deep down, she was but a weakling who kept worrying herself into depression. You, on the other hand, shone bright in your simplicity. You might bawl over laughable matters but once you decided on your wish, you put all your efforts into making it come true. You told me that you loved me, and that was the end of it, you would not care about anything else. You held me when I cried. You kissed me to make me feel better. You were the only one whose mere words could mend my spirit, dear Akari." _

_"I admired you so. I loved you so,"_ Aoi whispered into the little angel's ear while her arms once more snaked around her waist. As she buried her face in the crook of the golden-haired girl's neck to place her lips on the pulse on her throat, one hand of hers slipped inside the gap of Akari's shirt, traveled up her smooth belly, and enfolded her left breast. At the contact, redness flushed the Priestess's cheeks and a whimper, either from pleasure or apprehension, maybe both, was given voice by her delicate mouth. Oh how Aoi had treasured those sensual touches. Oh how she had cherished the warmth of her sweetheart's tender body through the fabrics of the chihaya every time they held each other tight.

_"Every moment of my time was for thinking of you, trying to find ways to make you smile, to have you reward me with a kiss,"_ Aoi murmured while her hand continued to caress the firm, shapely orb of flesh. The whimper grew louder, within which pleasure began to drown out fear. _"My life was filled with boundless joy because you always supported me with all you had. And that unforgettable day finally came, when we knelt before the Altar of the Silver Moon in the Shrine and recited the Prayer of Hope. Do you remember the Prayer we showed the numerous couples who came to the Moon to ask for our blessings? That night, you became mine. Since our Priestess powers are bound to our Innocence, our earthly bodies could never become one. Even so, our hearts did. I doubt you could ever imagine how happy I was."_

Her voice grew sharper, harder, and much more murderous. _"But then, despite my love for you, despite the bond we shared, you still betrayed me in the very end." _She slapped the Priestess of the Moon as hard as she could. The other girl's cheek was now imprinted with a red, swollen mark in the shape of Aoi's hand. She did not seem able to believe what just happened. Aoi would not blame her for that. After all, her friend Himemiya Chikane had always treated the girl with love and respect. Despite her complete lack of caring toward others, the Himemiya heiress had never been one who could force herself to speak one harsh word to the girl she loved most, let alone strike out at her.

_"Why did you sell me out to Ame no Murakumo, Akari? Why did you sacrifice my feelings for your selfish purpose? Why is it that at the end of the line, one of us died and one lived?"_ she grabbed the little angel's throat with both hands and snarled at her face. _"Why is it that one of us was killed by the hand of the one she loved most? What had happened to our vows? What had happened to the promise to stay by my side forever? Tell me!" _

"I... don't know... Chikane-chan... I don't... remember..." Akari croaked as she struggled against Aoi's tightening grasp on her neck.

"At least say my name correctly," Aoi said coldly, took her hands away, and allowed her prisoner to desperately gasp for breath. "I am Kannazuki Aoi, the Priestess of the Moon."

"No, you're Chikane-chan!" Akari insisted stubbornly. "You're still my kind and gentle Chikane-chan no matter what!"

"That girl is already _dead_." Aoi laughed. _"I killed her."_

"You're lying!" the other girl cried out at the top of her lungs and earned herself a sharp, dark glare from Aoi. Although the little angel shied back afterwards, the light of defiance never stopped shining in her beautiful amethyst eyes.

"I am not." Aoi chuckled in great amusement. "Do you not know that I have been sealed inside her since the very start of all this? The first time I saw you through her eyes when we were awakened on our birthday, I had wanted to get out and exact revenge. To my dismay," her eyes narrowed dangerously at the reincarnation of the girl she loved, "she managed to hold me back. Although she never knew something within her was stirring, her devotion toward you had helped her imprison me within her soul. She had been a strong girl to be able to delay my return for the last several weeks, I must give her that, but as a mortal, she had limits. Last night, the chains that had been binding me were broken, and I was set free."

"Last night... It couldn't be..."

"Her soul was sweet and filled with so much love and affection," she ignored the other girl and continued. "I could have spared her, I guess. I could have reduced her to only a voice inside my head. But then, you are to blame, dear Akari. Had she not been your closest friend, she would have lived for a little while longer."

"That's not true!" the Priestess of the Sun cried. Although tears never stopped rolling off her cheeks, Aoi's prisoner was still gazing at her with a pair of beautiful eyes unstained by the color of hate. It would appear that despite her harsh treatments, the girl was never once enraged the way Aoi had expected her to be. It was troubling and puzzling at the same time, in any event. "I can still sense you in there, Chikane-chan. Please, tell me the truth. What have I done to make you so angry with me? Please, tell me... I don't want to make you mad. I don't want to be hated by you... because... because I... I..."

"You think your friend still lives, Akari?" Aoi whispered icily and cut the little angel off. "I shall prove otherwise."

Aoi extended her right hand and let her palm hover above the ruby ring on the ring finger of the Priestess of the Sun's left. It was the present Himemiya Chikane had given to the girl, hoping it would get her feelings across. Foolish and futile was what it was. If it had done a fraction of what she had wanted it too, Kannazuki Aoi would not be standing here right at this very moment, torturing the person Himemiya Chikane loved most. She chuckled. The Himemiya of that day would be horrified to death should she learn what Aoi intended to do with the ring. Indeed, it was now the best tool for Aoi to use and carry out her wishes.

"Do you think Himemiya Chikane has the heart to do this, little Akari?" She unleashed her powers.

The golden-haired girl began to scream. Yet, the more heat wafted out from the ruby ring, the more Aoi put in. The thing now glowed brilliantly red as though it had been tossed into an open fire and heated to near melting. Smoke began to rise from Akari's finger as the sizzling sound punctuated the howls that pain was strumming off her throat, and as the stench of burning flesh permeated the air. While the Priestess of the Sun's body was continuously ravaged by convulsions that the unbearable heat was causing, Aoi found herself throwing back her head and laughing in utmost delight.

The torment continued for quite a while until Aoi decided to withdraw her powers. She chuckled in satisfaction as she saw Akari's head fell limply to one side. The girl's lovely face was dripping with sweats and tears, wrung dry of blood, drained of any color. Her golden tresses, now in complete disarray, stirred in the cold winds which made them even more of a mess. Yet, the girl could still move. Slowly, she lifted her head. Steadily, she showed Aoi her face, which shocked her to the base of her foundation. The Priestess of the Sun was not brimming with hatred as Aoi expected she would. She was not looking at Aoi with the eyes clouded by the anger Aoi thought she would see. It was the furthest thing from the truth. The thin ribbons binding the little angel trembled as her arms slowly moved inward, as her whole body reached for Aoi as though wanting to pull her into an embrace. Her lips, dry and bloodless, opened as though wanting to speak.

Aoi's mouth tightened.

She softly landed on her feet upon the ground, where she raised both of her arms so that they aligned in a straight line with her shoulders. She then turned the tap that had been holding her potential back. She flipped the switch that had been keeping a limit on her godly strength. The winds intensified and howled with the voice of a thousand wolves. Silver light spilled out from every particle of her existence and wove a hurricane that soared forth into the cloudless sky. The earth trembled from her heartbeat. The trees around them began to lean outward as though being bent by the scope of her powers.

Her hands moved.

Her fingers, deft and skillful, picked out fine threads of silver from the brilliant light wreathing around her body and wove them meticulously together to form a large bow. Holding the projectile weapon with one hand, she conjured an arrow, also made with silver light, with the other. Her feet settled into her shooting stance, her hand draw the arrow, and her eyes fell upon her target. She could feel a cruel smile curving her lips. She could hear her powers urging to be released. She could see the horror being written across the golden-haired girl's gorgeous face. Since the Priestess of the Sun was turning her head toward the right and settling her gaze upon the shiny ruby ring given to her the day following her birthday, Aoi would say that she had realized what Aoi was aiming to break.

The magnificent head of the little angel whipped around.

"Please! Chikane-chan, please don't!" she pleaded while her whole frame shook in an attempt to decrease Aoi's accuracy. She was simply wasting her efforts.

Aoi loosed the arrow, which flew true and shattered the ruby ring into a thousand pieces. One of the fragments, a piece of ruby that broke from the precious stone, made a deep scratch on Akari's cheek during its flight across her face. Despite the blood trickling down her skin, she simply stared at her ring finger, where the only thing that remained was a mark of burnt flesh. Tears again welled up in her eyes while unspeakable grief and agony contorted her pretty face. She was a crybaby to the bone, but a fool she never was. She should be able to figure out what Aoi meant to accomplish by destroying the only thing that she had left from her best friend and comrade.

"Face the truth, Akari," she said coldly. "Himemiya Chikane is no longer alive." She drew another arrow. "Neither will you be once I am finished with you, of course." This time, she aimed directly at the little angel's heart.

_"Stop, Himemiya!"_ the voice of Oogami Souma, full of fear and rage, bellowed from a distance and made her look up. From high in the sky, the boy was rushing down toward them with the Sealed Sword Raien gleaming in his clutch. She smirked. Just when she started wondering where Akari's prince on the white horse was...

"Let go of her, now!" he roared at the same time the Elemental Blade in his hand swung from left to right in a wide horizontal arc, which in turn unleashed a horde of purple lightning bolts crashing down upon her head. She narrowed her eyes at the boy, who seemed to be too concerned with his princess's safety to keep a cool head. She doubted that he was aware the output of his attacks was large enough to blow both Aoi and his beloved to bits. _Fool,_ she thought. Kannazuki Akari was her prey and the target of her vengeance. She would not allow the girl to be killed by any hand other than hers.

Using her right heel as a pivot, Aoi made a full turn of her body and swirled the wide and long sleeves of her chihaya around as she lifted them upward. Silver light acted immediately at her command and gathered into a large sphere that stood between them and Oogami's attacks.

_"Heart of the One True Moon!"_ she intoned before her fingertips gave it a gentle brush.

The sphere became a glorious pillar of light that rushed straight toward the incoming lightning bolts. Those pitiful things were swallowed up in an instant, unable to delay even a fraction of a second the pillar's advance toward the person who loosed them from his Sword. Face painted with shock and horror, the Orochi boy had no other choice except erecting a shield about his person and received the blast head on.

The second after the moment of contact, a loud explosion rippled across the cloudless skies. Like a kite whose string was cut, Oogami Souma fell headfirst toward the ground. Fortunately for him, he managed to regain his balance midway and land safely on his feet. From the glimpse that she caught of his face afterwards, she would say he looked someone who had just seen a ghost. She smiled. He should have been disabused of thoughts of invincibility by now. He should have realized that his power was nothing compared to that of a Priestess. Maybe he would even find humility after this. Well, if he managed to survive today's meeting with Aoi.

_If. _

_"Run away, Sou-chan!"_ shouted the Priestess of the Sun, whose body was still being restrained on high by Aoi's silver ribbons. _"Forget about me and run!"_

"Too loud, Akari." A wave of her hand pasted another ribbon right atop the golden-haired girl's mouth. She immediately became dead silent.

"Is that how you treat a friend, Himemiya?" Oogami Souma said acidly. "Is that how you treated _Himeko_ after all she had done for you?"

"If indeed it is, so what?" she replied in a calm and amused tone.

"Listen to what you just said, Himemiya!" the Seventh Head of the Orochi snapped. "How dare you utter such inhumane words knowing all the while how Himeko loves you and how she always wants you to be happy? _How dare you?"_

"Please." Aoi smiled. "To me, she is but a toy to do as I wish. A pet to kill time when I am bored, if you will. Why, I can even do this." She drew an arrow from her ever glowing aura and sent it piercing through Akari's left palm. The girl's slender body shook in unbearable pain while her amethyst eyes tried to bulge out of their sockets. Yet she was unable to cry out or to do anything except to watch blood trickling down toward the earth. "I am not the kind that would cry over a broken toy or a dead pet Oogami-san."

_"Damn you!"_ The traitorous Follower lunged fiercely at her and brought his shiny blade, around which coiled thin wires of purple lightning, upon her head.

_"Your master needs you now,"_ Aoi whispered as her hand rose fluidly toward the boy. _"Kagetsuki." _

* * *

Oogami Souma had thought that in close combat, none surpassed him and his Sealed Sword. He was disabused of it violently now, when he saw a blinding flare of silver light slamming against his front and felt his entire body being hurled backwards. Despite his desperate efforts to stop himself, which involved digging his heels and Raien's blade into the grassy around, he could only achieve his goal when his back crashed painfully into the trunk of a large tree. A wordless scream escaped his mouth. Stars erupted in his vision. Every muscle in his body were vibrating like guitar strings struck by a thimble. When his eyes returned to normal, his jaw fell. In front of him were three deep tracks, all of them fuming with smoke. At their far end stood Himemiya Chikane, in front of who floated a katana sheathed in a blue scabbard. On it shone the Moon Crest, around which silver light was gathering like winds would the eye of the storm. 

"Kagetsuki!" he breathed the sword's name in shock.

It was one of Ame no Hitomi, the fabled Eyes of Heaven, the legendary pair of God-forged weapons rumored to possess powers far greater than any of the Sealed Swords. _Why the hell is it here?_ he thought in alarm. They were supposed to be Sealed within the ice pillar in the Enshrinement Chamber of Shingetsu. They were supposed to be safely guarded by the Shinken Swords. His Kazuki-nii-san had assured him as much a few days ago. _How on Earth did she get it past the Seals?_ He shivered.

"You are awfully quiet, sir Knight," Himemiya said mockingly. "Why are you standing there looking so dumbstruck while your princess is in my hand, waiting to be killed? Should you not be baring your puny Sword at me for having harmed your childhood friend, whom you swore up and down to protect?" Her voice was heavy with contempt. Her sapphire eyes, cold and imperious, made her voice sound neutral.

"Do not provoke me, Himemiya!" he warned, his hand pointing the tip of Raien in her direction. Fine lightning flows once again obscured the Sword.

"For one who calls himself Knight, you are all talks." The rich girl, whose body was clad in the outfit of the Priestess of the Sun, chuckled.

"Never assume that I will not harm you because of Himeko, Himemiya," he said dangerously. As if mirroring his mood, the Elemental Blade in his hand pulsed with its vicious purple light. "Base on what you have done today, I could kill you right here and now without feeling any remorse. You were the one who attacked us this morning, _aren't you?"_ There could be no mistake. The deadly pressure that was rolling off of her in waves right now matched that which he had felt this morning in the Mansion of the Himemiya. She _was_ the culprit.

"Indeed." The Priestess of the Moon nodded in a most casual manner. One could have thought that he had just asked her whether she had had lunch. "But it is _your_ fault, Oogami-san. Had you not waltzed into my house and attempted to take my prey, I would not have lifted a finger." The accusing glare she sent his way would have knocked any other man off his feet. It brushed off him like a gentle breeze.

"Heed my warnings, Himemiya. If you do something like that _ever_ again, I shall kill you even if Himeko may hate me her whole life for it!"

"You are not honest with yourself." She smiled. It showed too much teeth for anyone's comfort. The girl only looked creepy in his eyes. "Listen to your hostile voice. Look at your reddened eyes. Feel your shaking hands and heart. I am willing to wager that what you desire most at this moment is to dismember me." She shot him a knowing glance, which made his mouth tighten. What she said disturbed him very much, but she wasn't in the least bit wrong. He truly wished to chop her into pieces. He suspected that Raien's darkness played no small part in invoking his anger, though. "You should not keep your hatred bottled up like that, you know. Here, allow me give you a good excuse to vent it."

"What?" he demanded.

"Kill or be killed, eyesore of an Orochi Follower" announced the Priestess of the Moon, whose hand had just wrapped around the hilt of the Eye of Heaven floating in front of her. _"__I release you, Kagetsuki!__"_

The glowing Moon Crest on the scabbard started to turn clockwise as the rich girl unsheathed the shiny one-bladed sword. The silver aura around her now intensified and the winds began to screech and howl. To Souma's surprise, he found himself experiencing an urge to step backward although he knew that he didn't want to, despite the fact that a tree was blocking his way. Perhaps it was because of the sense of power that was growing exponentially within Himemiya Chikane's body. Perhaps it was because of the endless waves of pressure that were washing fiercely over him. Perhaps it was the cold and murderous glare that the Priestess of the Moon had placed upon him. Or perhaps it was because of all of them, he thought.

Much as Souma did not want to admit it, he was freaking out. It wasn't as though he had never felt fear. On the contrary, he did quite a few times... yet never before in his life did he find his limbs trembling, his heart quivering, and his mind completely overwhelmed by terror. Never once before did he feel the power of Raien, that which helped him defeated his foes and saved his life many times over, so feeble compared to that of Kagetsuki, the Eye of Luna.

When he heard a thunderous noise resounding overhead and looked up, he saw something that ultimately shattered his confidence. The sky, the vast and seamless cerulean cloth, was undergoing a drastic change. The sun itself... was dying.

* * *

Yui the Goddess of the Sun was sipping tea when the sunlight, which had been flowing into her room through her open window, began to soften in a most unnatural way. It was not the dimming of the light when the great orb of golden light started its descent into the horizon. It was more what happened when the sun was experience a total eclipse. 

"The Priestess has finally made her move, Yui-sama," commented Tsukazaki Fuyura, who had been attending her since she regained her consciousness. Despite her insistence that she was quite fine and capable to taking care of herself, the raven-haired girl refused to leave her side. One of the two reasons was that she had received an order from the Regent of the Underworld... and the other was that the girl wished to ask for Yui's advice in conquering the heart of the one she loved. Yui had told Fuyura in a very sad voice if she herself couldn't even _talk_ to the heart of her light, how could she help the girl? The Crystal Rose Guardian had been most disappointed.

Once she had put down her cup atop the table, he rose to her feet and walked to the window, where the raven-haired girl was standing. As she looked up to the sky above Reiha, the Heart of the Underworld, she witnessed what had to be the most spectacular scene she ever did in her life. Encompassing the morning sun was a gigantic Moon Crest, which was accompanied by five smaller ones that set up a silver pentacle with the largest one at their heart. From all directions, white clouds were gathering around the massive pattern and roiling inward like a raging whirlpool. The light of day waned as a result. A few seconds later, it was completely murdered. Darkness curtained the cerulean blue and everything below it for at least several minutes before a flash of silver light tore it apart and restored the heavens to its cloudless state. Yet, _only_ the cloudless state. Day had changed to night, glorious light traded in by that of the full moon reigning in the sun's spot.

An incredible feat, no doubt. Little Aoi had proved once again that she was the most capable master of the Eye of Heaven, and that she was worthy of the most dangerous weapon in the Three World. In her hand, Kagetsuki had become much more powerful than its maker could ever have intended, Yui was sure. Now, the Orochi would be hard-pressed to stop the girl from doing what she wished to. And if for some reason they insisted in barring her way, death would be the only spoil that they would find in the bitter end.

"What should we do now, Yui-sama?" Fuyura asked.

"Nothing, Fuyu-chan." Yui settled down on her high-backed, fully cushioned chair and took up her teacup again. "The time for us to act will come soon, so let us be patient and wait."

"As you say, Yui-sama." The young Chancellor gave her a respectful incline of her head.

_So, you have done exactly what I think you would, dear Aoi._ Yui raised her cup toward the majestic moon in the heavens. _Let me give you a toast. Let us see who shall emerge victorious in this gamble against destiny. Let us see the extent of your will to change that which binds your Fate. All the players are present, our souls are but wagered, and the dice is cast. Let the battle begin._

* * *

With every shred of his body soaked in fear, Oogami Souma had to put his left hand on the wrist of his right one to stop it from shaking. Having faced Tsubasa-nii-san and the Orochi Eighth Head in combat, he had thought that no one could be stronger than them. He was wrong yet again. Standing in front of him now was a girl whose power certainly outstripped the Orochi First Head and the wielder of the Twilight Blade. Standing imperiously in front him now was a Goddess clothed in the flesh of a mortal, against whom he wasn't sure he stood any chance. Raien seemed like a child's toy compared to Kagetsuki. The Sealed Sword's Voice of Sorrow didn't have any effect on either the Eye of Luna or its master the Priestess. Unless fortune truly favored him, he wasn't going to leave this place in one piece. 

"Look at you, Oogami Souma," said the princess of the Himemiya in a voice that belonged on a judge who was passing out death sentences. "Pathetic, you cowering in fear that is. Face the truth. You, a failure of an Orochi, are unable to finish us Priestesses who are destined to annihilate your kind. Worse, you are much more useless as a mortal, for you cannot even protect the girl to whom you swore your heart. Someone whose existence is meaningless like yours should just _disappear!"_

The rough soil of the earth vanished, its brown texture forever gone. Stretching across the land was now a surface as shiny as any mirror, one that reflected the whole image of the night sky above. Within it, there was a moon just like the one that was radiating its silver luminescence to the furthest corner of the horizon. A scary thought crossed Souma's mind. Why was it that the image of the real moon was directly beneath his feet? And why were the _two_ of them glowing brighter and brighter at the same time? _Oh no!_

_"Moonlight Symphony."_ The Priestess of the Moon pointed Kagetsuki at him, a smile crossing her lips.

Souma leapt into the air barely in time to escape the two beams of light that came from the two moons above his head and below his feet, which rushed into one another an inch from his body and exploded. Shockwaves beat fiercely on the barrier he had woven around himself beforehand for protection. He looked down, feeling cold sweat soaking the back of his shirt. A good chunk of green trees in the wood had been cleared away as cleanly as chalk wiped off the board. Had he been struck by that attack, he doubted he would have been able to see the dawn of day every again.

"Never take your eyes off an enemy, especially in a fight, Seventh Head," Himemiya Chikane whispered and reminded him that she was still there. The moon of illusion was now glowing right beneath her feet and enveloping her slender body with its eerie light. The girl, on the other hand, was holding the hilt of the Eye of Heaven in such a way that the blade's tip pointed downward. A heartbeat later, she let it go. Upon being struck by the one-bladed sword, the moon trapped beneath the shiny surface broke into a million sparkling fragments that drifted further and further from her until together they formed an ocean of stars far more beautiful than anything that he ever had the chance to behold.

_"Rise, Tears of the last full moon,"_ Himemiya's words rang across the silent night. "Farewell, and may Heaven have mercy on you." It resembled a prayer one would read to the dead too much for his own comfort.

The star ocean became alive as each and every one of its denizens left the surface that kept them bound. Then, to his shock, they came straight at him. Hastily, he strengthened his lightning barrier to shield his body from the heaviest rain that had ever pummeled the earth. Barely a heartbeat had passed before he began to ask himself why he bothered to do so. Every hit by those tiny-looking stars sent shock rippling across the surface, which resulted in the terrible tremors that traveled the length of Raien's blade and rocked Souma's hand the way an earthquake would a city. Not even five seconds after the assaults began, his barrier shattered and his Sealed Sword was knocked away from his grasp.

Despite his effort to avoid being hit by gliding in a jagged path in the air, he still couldn't make his escape. First, one spark struck his arm and made him felt like he had been hit by a thick steel hammer, then another exploded on his left leg and knocked him off balance. The rest of the stars seized the chance and hit him one after another. Souma didn't have time, or even the strength to scream out loud as his whole body was thrown violently from one place to another in the sky just to be slammed face down on the grassy surface of the earth in the very end. With his face half buried in the ground, he felt his muscles and his nerves unravel. He felt numb, he felt cold, but he couldn't even see the blood that he knew was pooling around his head. Thinking to himself that this was a terrible way to end his life, he passed out unconscious.

* * *

Kurusugawa Himeko, whose body was still being caught in the clutches of the silver ribbons on high, could only watched as her childhood friend, all bloodied and tattered, fell silent atop the ground. For all she knew, the boy could have been dead. And if he were, she was the one who would be responsible for his death. He had followed her here to save her. She had led him here to die. She felt tears flowing down her cheeks again. Her childhood friend... felled by the person whom she loved most. _How this did happen?_ she thought bitterly in her head. 

"Did I not tell you to kill or be killed, Oogami Souma?" remarked the Priestess of the Moon in a voice that held neither emotion nor remorse, whose foot was resting on the boy's back. He did not move in response. "But then, with your pathetic strength and your pitiful sword, what can you do but accept your fate?" The blue-haired princess raised her hand, which was holding her sword, and prepared to plunge the Eye of Heaven into his unmoving body.

_"No! No! No!" _Himeko screamed wordlessly into the ribbon that bound her mouth. The sword only drew closer to her childhood friend's skin.

"Better wish that you can be born with more power next time, Orochi Seventh Head." Chikane-chan laughed.

_"Shinken Sealing Field!"_ bellowed the voices of many men, one of which was the High Priest of the Grand Shrine of the Sacred Moon.

A wave of pure white light traversed space and hurled the tall girl away from the person into whose body she was about to drive her sword. A large dome of the same light now separated the former from the latter, rendering the Priestess of the Moon incapable of dealing a finishing blow. The blue-haired princess, who was now standing outside the protective layer after she had regained her balance, frowned slightly at the sight of the emerging fifteen or so Shingetsu Priests, led by Oogami Kazuki himself. Her mouth thinned in irritation when the sensei raised his hand toward Himeko and said something she couldn't hear. She narrowed her eyes dangerously at the middle-aged man when the thin ribbons that had been holding Himeko loosened and put her gently back on her feet. The Himemiya princess _tsk'ed_ and sheathed her sword when those ribbons melted into the air.

"So you do want to oppose me after all, traitor," Chikane-chan said coldly afterwards. "You do have guts activating the powers of the Shinken behind my back like that."

The High Priest chose to ignore the Himemiya princess and turned his full attention to his little brother. The other men, face worried and troubled, took it as a cue and put their hands several inches above the boy so that they could work their healing powers on him. To Himeko's relief, her childhood friend's body began to stir, signifying that he was still alive. All her worries were immediately laid to rest.

Ignoring the terrible pain jolting out from her left hand with every step she took, she quietly walked toward her beloved Chikane-chan until she reached the edge of the dome. There, she leaned her front against the wall of white light that was separating her from her sweetheart. Yet, before she could open her mouth, the Priestess of the Moon gave her a frosty smile and said, "It was a shame that our reunion party crashed, dear my beloved. But worry not, for next we meet, I will take your life for sure." The smile grew wider and much more malicious before she turned and walked away.

With every step her sweetheart took away from her, a portion of Himeko's world died. When the blue-haired princess's shadow had completely faded into the distance, absolutely no thought remained in Himeko's head and no feeling whatsoever was left in her heart. No longer able to hold herself erect, she collapsed onto her knees. Even at the very end, Chikane-chan had not said her name once. All that the heiress of the Himemiya cared about was the reincarnation of the Priestess of the Sun, the one what Himeko was supposed to be. She really didn't know what hurt more, the heart of her world wanting to kill her or the girl ignoring her existence. Yet, despite all that had happened, despite the searing pains that had been inflicted on her body, she still loved her more than anything in the world.

_"Come back, Chikane-chan, please!"_Himeko cried out at the top of her lungs.


	10. The Priestess of the Sun

_**EPISODE NINE: THE PRIESTESS OF THE SUN.**_

* * *

Upon emerging from the Dimensional Portal, Saotome Makoto found herself floating a hundred feet above the energy layer swirling around the Temple of the Dragons, the complex that rode upon the sea of clouds and winds. She _tsk'ed_ in slight irritation. Although the barrier provided the Followers' lair with what seemed to be impenetrable protection, it had but one inconvenient flaw. The thing made direct dimensional warping to and from the Temple ground all but impossible. Every time Makoto or any of the other Heads wished to go out, they had to use the Elemental Blades to open a small hole in the barrier before they could pass through. The more she had to do it, the more she found it cumbersome. Sometimes she caught herself wishing that the Dark God would either do something to make traveling a tad less tiring or just shut the damn things down for good. She doubted anything could ascend to this insane height, catch up to a structure that wandered the world, and launch an assault that could break through its barrier anyway.

Makoto shook her head. It was not the time for such trivial things to cloud her minds, for she had more pressing matters to deal with. According to what Susanou no Mikoto had told her in Tower of Kannazuki, the real story behind this whole conflict between the Dark God and the humans was much more complicated than she could have thought. For all she cared, Yamata no Orochi could set fire to the entire world and cook it however his black heart desired... but she certainly wasn't going to stand on the sideline if he was going to burn Himeko along with it. The Dark God had assured Makoto that he would keep the golden-haired girl safe, had sworn it with his Immortal name, yet she had learned from the One Terminal in the Memories Hall that a promise from the fabled eight-headed dragon might be as much _a lie_ as everything else he had revealed about himself. That was why Makoto had to learn his true plans before it was too late.

Makoto summoned Tasogare into her hand and channeled her powers into the Sealed Sword. She stopped in midway, though, for something, flickering at the edge of her vision, had captured her attention whole.

From the sky above, a great sphere of blinding silver light, seemingly appearing out of thin air, was shooting straight toward the Temple of the Dragons with a speed so great that in a blink of an eye, it overcame a distance that has to be at least a thousand feet and appeared several inches away from the swirling protective barrier, burning the air in its approach. Makoto felt her jaw dropping in shock. It was neither the incredible speed of incoming projectile nor the frightening aura of power that it gave out that concerned her, however. It was the image that her Orochi eyes had caught the very moment it passed her by and made her feel as though she had just been tossed into an open oven. Wreathed inside the silver light was Himemiya Chikane, whose body was clad in the white chihaya and the red hibakama of the Priestess of the _Sun_, whose hand was gripping the hilt of a slightly curved one-bladed sword. Most shocking of all, the tip of the same sword was pointed at the Dragons' lair itself.

_She meant to attack the Temple!_ Makoto thought in horror.

The humongous sphere of silver light collided with the barrier in an explosion so deafening that Makoto's ears almost bled from the resultant sounds, which seemed to echo to the furthest corners of the earth. Amidst the crashing shockwaves that kept yanking her cloak away from her neck and shoulders, she could only stand and watch the mighty layer of protective energy, what she thought to be impenetrable just a few minutes ago, come crashing down like a fragile glass panel struck by a rock. Utterly and completely ground into _fine_ _dusts_ by only one strike of a puny sword in the hand of a tiny girl. Makoto's eyes tried to jump out of their sockets.

"Weak," commented an apparently bored Priestess of the Moon, around whose body the winds howled in mourning for the destruction of the protective barrier, in whose hand shone a sword that showed no damage from the great collision with what was built directly with the powers of the Dark God. The corners of her mouth were curved in what seemed to be satisfaction. Her sapphire eyes were shining with a light so cold she made ice seem hot. "I am most disappointed," she continued as her head turned toward Makoto. A smile, mocking, insolent, condescending, and most insufferable, crossed her lips. Makoto found herself struck by a glance that probably would turn any other person's blood into ice. Her fists clenched in anger.

_You have a death wish, Himemiya,_ she thought. Power bloomed in her and multiplied rapidly until it soaked every fiber of her existence with its exhilarating feel. Her hand rose. Her Sword, the tip of which was now directed toward the Priestess of the Moon, pulsed with the heartbeat of the world, with enough energy to level mountains and dry out the sea. _Lowly creature of Heaven, you shall not leave this place alive._ From the challenging gleam that she could see in Himemiya's eyes, she believed the girl was aware that Makoto meant to destroy her where she stood. The lack of any other kinds of response – the infidel never tried to assume either a defensive or offensive stance – told Makoto that she wasn't going to take her seriously. Her grip tightened around the hilt of Tasogare. The Priestess wouldn't think so any more once Makoto had stripped off her hide and feed it to the sharks.

Before she could launch an attack, though, five sources of power, all of which bore the stench of the Dark God, entered her mind. Without taking her eyes away from the Priestess, she could still feel the approaching presences of the rest of the Orochi Heads. To her distaste, Himemiya Chikane never showed the merest hint of fear even after she found herself surrounded from all sides by the Followers, in whose hands the Swords gleamed dangerously, on whose faces varying expressions could be glimpsed. Girochi Tokiya, master of the Water Blade, was eyeing the mortal enemy of his liege lord with a mix of fear and confusion. His sister, Girochi Miyako, was glaring at the blue-haired girl with burning hatred in her eyes. Hibiki Shizuku, the cat-fanatic who insisted everyone else to call her Nekoko, was studying the Himemiya heiress with open interest. Oota Reiko the icy killing machine, surprisingly, appeared to be struggling with herself instead of placing her full attention on the Priestess of the Moon. The bespectacled woman was gazing straight ahead so insidiously that anyone could have figured out that she was trying to avoid looking at the girl who stood to her left. Korona, face glum and eyes heavy with depression, was staring at the mangaka openly and didn't seem to care if Himemiya flayed her to death. Makoto did not doubt for one second that the mangaka was the supplier of the pop idol's sour mood.

"So, you still live," Himemiya remarked after a glance at the Girochi siblings. "Pests do not die easily, do they?" She chuckled quietly at that. The girl had to have suicidal courage, Makoto thought.

_"Himemiya Chikane!"_ Miyako growled. She would have flung herself at her enemy and let common sense be hanged had it not been for her kid brother, who put a hand on her shoulder and held her back. When she saw that Tokiya was shaking his head almost exasperatedly, she felt silent and assumed her defensive stance. She still looked like a volcano about to erupt, though.

Nekoko laughed and clapped her hands in such a delighted manner that Makoto could have sworn that the woman had just finished watching her favorite TV show. "Your tongue is as wicked as ever. You have not changed, I see, Moon Priestess," said the alleged doctor of Tate University, where Makoto had spent a few days in physical rehabilitation, where she had met the cat-fanatic.

"Nor have you," replied the blue-haired girl, smiling almost sweetly. Her eyes were still ice-cold, though. Oota Reiko was famous among the Orochi for her soul-freezing stare... yet compared to Himemiya Chikane, the Orochi Fifth Head looked kind and friendly. Makoto was surprised. Despite knowing that the rich girl was by no means someone who acted chummy with people with the sole exception of Kurusugawa Himeko, she had never seen the Priestess of the Moon behaving in such a scary way. "You are still the Orochi I recall, only more treacherous and less likable. Why, you do not show the slightest bit of anger knowing your brethren almost died under my hand. I would not put it past you to sell out the other Followers to achieve your own goals."

The irritating and calculating smile that Nekoko always wore was immediately wiped off her lips. "Watch your mouth!" she growled in a voice that reeked of burning fury. Another surprise. As far back as Makoto could remember, the cat-fanatic never allowed herself to lose her calm in front of others, and she never got rid of her creepy smile. Furthermore, the Sixth Head was a woman who was impervious to taunts and criticism. There should be no way in hell Himemiya Chikane could tick her off. Her breath caught at the thought and her eyes narrowed at the wielder of Arashigumo the Wind Blade.

The Priestess of the Moon chuckled, certainly amused. "Why should I? If you are indeed loyal to your liege lord, you need not fear my questioning. Unless..." Although she said no more after that, Makoto was certain that none Orochi Head present here would fail to understand what she had more than just implied.

_"I shall not stand here to be insulted by the likes of you, Priestess!"_ roared the cat-fanatic, who did not notice that her brethren were studying her openly with suspicion written across their faces. All she cared about at the moment was obviously the utter destruction who had just questioned her loyalty to the Dark God, which was of course a very dangerous thing to do. Eyes ablaze with unspeakable fury, face so red one would expect her mouth to breathe out fire, she held up her Arashigumo. The winds howled fiercely at their master's seldom shown temper and coiled around the shiny blade of the Sealed Sword. The air began to solidify. The cloud, upon which the Temple of the Dragons traveled the world, started to roil as though water boiling atop a stove.

To the surprise of everybody save the Priestess, the one who struck first was not Nekoko, but Girochi Miyako, the Vice Commander of the Dark God's personal army. The darkly tanned woman, whose hand held her Rekkyou the Fire Blade high over her head, bellowed while her whole body was bursting with the power bestowed by her liege lord, "Orochi, attack!" The ocean of clouds, already boiling under the power of Arashigumo the Wind Blade, were punctured by enormous flows of golden flames that slithered in the sky like living snakes. Those serpentine currents wasted no time in rushing directly at the Priestess of the Moon.

Hibiki Shizuku, after a moment of stunned silent, also released the energy she had channeled into her Sealed Sword as she swung it in front of her in a wide arc. A colossal wave, which was tall as any building in Downtown Mahoroba and made entirely from winds and fogs, emerged and hurled its ethereal self at the blue-haired girl. From the way it was woven, Makoto suspected that any person who was enveloped by this tidal wave would have their body ripped into unrecognizable pieces. It was a very dangerous spell, she thought. Coupled with what was unleashed by Miyako's Fire Blade, it only became much more so now that the two of them together had blocked out Himemiya Chikane's every escape route.

Frowning slightly, Makoto moved out of the way so that she wouldn't be caught in the Third Head's thirst for vengeance and the Sixth's desire to silence someone who appeared to have touched a nerve. The other Followers were doing the same thing, she realized. Girochi Tokiya, who had positioned himself safely out of harm's way, seemed to want to support his elder sister but too occupied with his own thoughts and calculations to actually lift a hand. Amusingly enough, Oota Reiko, who had placed herself firmly in front of the pop idol the very moment Nekoko launched her attack, now had such an expression of horror and disbelief on her face that Makoto would wager her own Sword that the woman had not consciously meant to do that. Meanwhile, the Fourth Head couldn't have looked happier with a brilliant smile on her lips. That smile died away as soon as she put a hand on the other woman's arm, most likely to show her appreciation and affection, and was harshly bushed off. She was stunned.

Paying the weird couple one of which couldn't come to terms with her own feelings, Makoto returned her full attention to the Priestess of the Moon, who looked unruffled even though the two Orochi's spells were converging on her and about to turn her into burnt minced meat. Neither the heat of the currents of fire nor the pressure of the advancing wall of winds fazed her in the least bit. And then, when they were practically on top of her, she raised her one-bladed sword skyward and closed her eyes. It was only then that Makoto noticed the existence of the shining Moon Crest that was engraved upon the portion of the blade near the hand guard. Her eyes went wide. There was but one weapon in the Three World which bored that symbol, she had been told by the Dark God. _The Eye of Luna!_ she thought. _Kagetsuki!_

Silver light erupted from the Crest and drowned everything in sight with its cool luminescence.

Despite knowing that the Priestesses' holy light couldn't hurt her, Makoto still erected her Tasogare and wove a protective barrier around her body. She didn't like surprises... and based on what she had seen today, Himemiya Chikane surely was capable of delivering the nastiest ones. Besides, caution could never hurt, especially after she had noticed that the rich girl had managed to conceal her powers so well that Makoto couldn't even measure them. She had learned that dogs who hid their fangs and kept quiet were the most dangerous of all.

The Twilight Blade suddenly trembled in her hand exactly the second she sensed an alien presence of power surging inside her sword and trying to invade every corner of the weapon. Lips thinning in irritation, she launched a counteroffensive and spread out her own powers so that they cast a net around the unknown force. To her disappointment, it had withdrawn very quickly before it could be caught and destroyed. To her surprise, a faint tremor in the very fabric of space, a disturbance in the dimensional structure that she governed, marked the instance in which no alien presence remained in her Elemental Blade. To her shock, a wail full of agony immediately followed. _It was Nekoko's voice!_ she thought.

When the silver light subsided, Makoto found a virtually untouched and unhurt Himemiya Chikane, whose hand was still holding her sword, whose eyes were following the fall of the cat-fanatic's bloodied body with a cruel smile on her lips. That smile grew wider when the self-styled doctor's back landed upon the grassy ground of the Temple's back garden, which more than softened the impact. There, the woman lay with her eyes closed, with blood gushing out from numerous wounds on her face, her limbs, and her waist. None of those seemed fatal, yet were she left to her own device, she would die very soon of severe blood loss. Unsurprisingly, no other Orochi, including Makoto herself, appeared at the very least interested in the well-being of the cat-fanatic. Their eyes were on the Priestess of the Moon, their mouth hanging in speechlessness. Girochi Miyako, especially, seemed shocked to the core. The ocean of clouds had grown peaceful again, the air so still none would believe that just moments ago, it had been a raging battlefield between two Orochi and a Priestess.

Unlike her brethren, Makoto was not surprised by the outcome of the battle, for she knew that Himemiya Chikane was more than capable of warding off the assaults. What surprised her, however, was the fact that the blue-haired girl had done that by invoking dimensional power, which Makoto was certain that only she could control. Unless the Dark God had lied to her, Tasogare was the only thing in this world that allowed a mortal to manipulate the fabrics of space.

"Is there any other who wishes to try their strength against mine?" asked the Priestess, whose sapphire eyes were calmly scanning the faces of the remaining Orochi. "Death is a wish I can always grant." Although the other Followers stiffened visibly at that, none moved a muscle. Makoto suspected that her brethren, having witnessed what had become of the foolish Nekoko, no longer had any wish to fight. _The first to act would also be the first to die,_ they had to be thinking in their heads.

Not that such a thing applied to Makoto, though.

"Very droll, Himemiya," she said dryly. "Now we'll see if you have enough skill to back your words." Powers, born from the depth of her soul, raced to her hand and entered Tasogare through the hilt. The black blade of the Sword then pulsed and released fine filaments of the same color, which then coiled around its edges. The shadow that she cast on the ocean of clouds beneath her feet, originally just a small disc, expanded at a neck-breaking rate. In but a few seconds, it managed to stretch all the way to the distant horizon, leaving no spot untouched. A signal from Makoto would mean the rise of countless lances made from the darkness. A flicker of her hand would command those lances to skewer the Priestess, who had nowhere to hide. Although it was indeed true that the Dark God had issued an order that the girl was not to be harmed, Makoto was willing to ignore it. After all, she had no reason to let Himemiya Chikane live!

The rich girl said nothing in response. She merely gave Makoto a chilly look before she raised her left hand and deployed her own powers. Silver light erupted beneath her tabi-sandaled feet and pushed back the shadow that Makoto had wrought upon the ocean of clouds. Now, the vast field was divided into two, one silver, one black. She gave a vexed tsk and began racking her mind for a way to break the stalemate. Before she could come up with one, however, she heard the Third Head Girochi Tokiya shouting desperately in the background, _"Don't, Aneki!"_

The darkly tanned figure of the man's elder sister loomed over the Priestess of the Moon from behind. Face painted with triumph, the woman brought down Rekkyou with both hands in an evident attempt to dismember the person who nearly sent her to the Underworld yesterday. As if she had eyes on her back, Himemiya Chikane spun around while her right hand slashed upward along with the Eye of Heaven in a silver blaze. Orochi-forged steel met Gods-forged one in a dance of sparks. Dual-bladed Sealed Sword clashed again one-bladed katana in a deafening sound. And the former suffered a miserable defeat in the end. Rekkyou the Fire Blade left the hands of Girochi Miyako, spun upward high into the twilight sky, and vanished.

Girochi Miyako was so shocked that she couldn't do anything except staring at her bruised and bleeding hands, so stupefied that she only realized that she was in deep yogurt _after_ Himemiya Chikane had placed a hand on her stomach. Blood withdrew from the woman's face. Tremors wrecked her body. All signs of defiance vanished from her eyes. She appeared too scared to even twitch a muscle, let alone trying to escape.

"Fireflies are not meant to compete with the moon, silly Orochi," whispered the Priestess, who was wearing a smile that never went past her lips. Her words were colder than ice. "For their lives are but vain and short... the very same way yours is." A portion of the silver light, which had been gathering around the Moon Crest on the eye of Heaven, shifted up her right arm, crossed her shoulder, traveled along her left, and ended up swirling around her hand. The Orochi Second Head, probably already aware of what was going to happen to herself, began to look at Himemiya Chikane pleadingly. Makoto shook her head. Courage had never been a virtue that the darkly tanned woman possessed.

"Coward of a Follower," the Himemiya heiress smiled in great amusement, "may you rest in peace."

_"Don't kill her!"_ Girochi Tokiya, with Suikyou clutched in hand, lunged at the Priestess of the Moon at the exact moment that Makoto shouted, _"Release her, Himemiya!"_ Vines of shadows thick as an adult rose from the darkness patch on the ocean of clouds and whipped at the blue-haired girl at the speed of a bullet. It wasn't that she cared whether the wielder of Rekkyou died or lived. She attacked only because she refused to let the Priestess of the Moon do as she wished. Besides, if Girochi Miyako lost her life, Makoto would be one of the people who would have to face the wrath of the Dark God afterwards. Until she had learned of his true intentions, she did not plan to lose his favor anytime soon.

A pillar of solid white fire erupted beneath Himemiya's feet and rushed upward, threatening to swallow the blue-haired girl alone. The Priestess proved yet again that she had inhuman reflexes, for she wasted no time, and apparently no thoughts, in tossing the darkly tanned woman caught in her clutches away and grounding the tip of Kagetsuki against the pillar. At the same time, silver light enveloped her slender frame, incinerated the shadow vines, and hurled the Third Head backward. Like a current of water meeting an obstacle in its path, the light forked and streamed to the sides of the silver sphere that were enveloping the body of its target. Eventually, the attack ceased, leaving an airborne Priestess who was neither disturbed nor fazed. The girl, who must have nerves of steel, simply put her full attention of the seven whirlpools of light that were arranged into the shape of the Hokuto Shichisei upon the smooth bed of clouds stretching wherever the eye could see. The other Orochi including Girochi Miyako, who was now shivering madly in the protective embrace of her little brother, might as well never have existed.

_"By order of the Lord, Followers, stand down!"_ the First Head's voice, amplified by his powers and punctuated by the roiling sounds of the whirlpools of white light, boomed coldly in the air. The Commander of the Orochi, who held his crooked Hokuto the Star Blade in his right hand, was standing on the grassy ground of the back garden, near an unconscious Nekoko who in his eyes could have been a log, while looking intently at the Priestess of the Moon. It was the first time that Makoto saw signs of fear on the man's face. He was probably thinking the same thing as her. If Himemiya Chikane could deflect three offensive prongs at the same time and still was able to emerge unharmed afterwards, she might just be beyond any of them in term of power.

_"Saotome Makoto, why are you still deploying your powers? Cease at once!"_ demanded the man in white.

"Yes, First Head." Makoto bowed slightly in acquiescence and withdrew her powers. Although She was by far the strongest of the Orochi, she had no any authority against the Commander of the Followers, who was appointed by the Dark God himself. She had no qualm about being ordered around by someone weaker than her, though. Tsubasa was a worthy leader, and she had too many things on her mind.

"Saotome Makoto?" Himemiya Chikane glanced at her in mild surprise while her mouth seemed to be tasting the words. A light of comprehension dawned on her youthful face.

_"Priestess of the Moon, state your intention now,"_ Tsubasa commanded in an imperious voice. _"Depending on what you give, you may not leave this place alive." _

"A _truce_, Orochi First Head." The blue-haired girl smiled in triumph. "A _partnership_ between me and your Lord, you may say."

_"Then follow me, the Lord will see you now." _

Makoto felt her mouth hanging open in shock. Unless her ears had gone completely useless, she had just heard Himemiya Chikane casually proposing a truce with her sworn enemy... and said sworn enemy accepting the proposal in an equally casual manner. _They are supposed to be killing each other off!_ she shouted in her head. Her thought was cut off abruptly, however, when the Priestess of the Moon threw back her head and let out a gust of laughter that was too dark and too satisfied for Makoto's comfort. _This is not a part of Project Kannazuki now is it?_ Susanou no Mikoto had never mentioned that the Priestess of the Moon was scheduled to join forces with the Orochi Followers, if she recalled correctly. _Then what the hell is happening here?_

* * *

Yui the Goddess of the Sun, clad in a hagoromo the snowy brocade of which was laid over with a thin layer of transparent material bearing the patterns of the Crystal Roses, was sitting on the roof of the Rosenkyuu and feasting her eyes upon the spectacular scenery of Reiha when the cool voice of Tsukazaki Fuyura, one of the Chancellors to the Regent of the Underworld, whispered in her head, _"Yui-sama, everything is ready. We may begin anytime you wish." _

Gathering her robe about her person so that they wouldn't be blown away by the cold winds that had been razing the roof of the Rosenkyuu ever since she climbed up here. In spite of being chilled to the bone and feeling as though she was going to blown off her feet quite frequently, she decided to stay instead of going back to the control room. She disliked it there. Being a hygiene maniac, which she became after three thousand years of wearing clothes that didn't show an inch of skin beneath her neck, the very idea that she was going to stay in a room filled with people who didn't have a clue about sanitation scared her witless. Well, not that she was lumping in her dear friend Tsukazaki Fuyura with those people, of course. The young Chancellor took three baths a day, and she might just do four if her schedule informed her that she was going to spend time by the side of the person she loved, for whom she bought strawberry cheesecakes on a daily basis. Besides, she was about to supervise a large-scale experiment that spanned the entire Heart of the Underworld. Obviously doing so in a room and by fixing her eyes on a holographic screen was a mediocre idea. Watching the real scenery was much more interesting.

_"Then let us start the experiment, Fuyu-chan,"_ she replied.

_"Confirmed." _

Raising her right arm until it was level with the ground, Yui rolled back her long and wide sleeve to reveal a golden bracelet, which was carved into the shape of a rose surrounded by elegant vines and leaves, then pressed a finger upon a button cleverly hidden at the center of the flower. Holographic screens of many sizes cascaded around her and formed a great sphere that trapped her in the middle. Sighing, she cleared some of the unnecessary ones and moved others so that they wouldn't obstruct her view.

_"Citizens of Reiha," _a voice boomed like thunder in the air, _"this is an announcement from the government at the Rosenkyuu. What you about to witness is a testing for Reiha's newly developed weather control module. In the next few minutes, please do not be alarmed at what you see or feel, for all safety measures have been taken. I repeat. This is an announcement..." _

Yui chuckled quietly. What they were about to test was the furthest thing from what they claimed it was. She couldn't deny that such a lie was necessary, though. Perhaps it was impossible for the Holy Messengers to infiltrate Reiha, they couldn't be sure whether someone on the inside was feeding secrets to Izumo. For this experiment alone, the Heart of the Underworld had been kept under tight surveillance for the last few weeks and many had lost their privacy within their own home without even knowing it. it was one of the things that made Yui feel terrible... but there was nothing she could do other than trying to make sure this wouldn't go on any longer than it had to.

_"Releasing safety locks,"_ a monotonous voice announced from Yui's bracelet. _"Commencing launch. Piercing Five, stand by and ready." _

_"Selenite Drive, lift off."_ Somewhere to Yui's left, at the eastern edge of the city, a column of white light shot into the cloudless sky of Reiha. From its base, a gigantic shadow emerged upward. It was a structure comprised of two life-sized pyramids joined together at the base, the sides of which were so smoothly polished that the strongest glue would have to struggle desperately to hang on to. The Selenite Drive, aptly named for its surface was made entirely out of the precious stone, stopped its ascent when the light thinned and eventually dissipated.

_"Emerald Drive, Garnet Drive, Amethyst Drive, Sapphire Drive, lift off."_ Four more of the same kind of structure, only in different colors and with different names, rose from the underground facilities built only for the purpose of housing them. All of the Piercing Five now stood motionless and airborne around the Heart of the Underworld in a perfect circle centered by the Rosenkyuu itself. The five gemstone-named mechanisms, beautiful and deadly at the same time, caught the waning light of the setting sun and intensified it until all of Reiha fell under a thick blanket that was their dazzling brilliance.

_"Engaging Sealing Field Dispenser Ring."_ The S.F.D.R, a flat washer-like ring made from pure energies that bore countless lines of archaic inscriptions on both sides, ran from one gemstone Drive to another and connected all five at the core of each. As a result, the Piercing Five became linked together and able to function as one single unit. _"Dimension Breaker, construction complete." _

Studying all of the holographic screens on which statistical figures and graphs were displayed in details, Yui found herself smiling in great satisfaction. Energy allocation among the Piercing Five was stable. The sensitive and delicate equipments did not look overworked or overheated. Marginal error was less than one tenth of a percent. Everything was going just fine.

_"Yui-sama, we await your order,"_ the voice of the Crystal Rose Guardian once again echoed in her head.

_"Restrict power output to forty percent only, and fire,"_ Yui commanded.

_"Restricting power output to forty percent,"_ announced the golden bracelet. _"Dimension Breaker, activated."_

As if it was a summons, white lightning streaked in the cloudless sky where there should be no place for them to emerge from. Yui grimaced. She was by no means fond of such things, for they were ugly scars that tore the beautiful heavens apart. Furthermore, they usually appeared when the dark clouds had devoured the light of the sun and deprived the world of its warmth and brilliance. Being the Goddess of the Sun, the High Immortal whose life was bound to the golden fireball since birth, she always felt unwell on such days. It was certainly one of the greatest ironies of the world. Her title suggested her dominance over the sun and the power to make it do as she wished... yet she knew better than anyone else that it was simply a burden that was tied to her feet. As long as the bond existed between her and the sun, the _freedom_ she had was simply a hollow word.

The intensity of the lightning picked up the pace as they continued their quest to further reduce the cerulean sky to a tattered piece of cloth. Thunder roared every few seconds and reminded her of the unpleasantness of a child who wouldn't stop crying and screaming because he didn't get what he wanted. Fierce hurricanes, descending from high above, dug their heels onto the forests that surrounded Reiha, uprooted trees, and destroyed whatever else that lay in their paths. Yui sighed. Although the Piercing Five formed a barrier that protected the Heart of the Underworld, they could do nothing for anything that was beyond the city limit. She doubted the Landscape and Environment Bureau was going to be pleased.

Amidst all that destruction, however, snow began to fall. The heavenly ice cream, white flowers purer than most, gently but steadily covered the roofs of Reiha. Her heart grew cold. The Holy City where she was born and grew up was a place where Spring weather ruled year-round. Yet, three thousand years ago, when the Regent of the Underworld and her daughter Yue the Goddess of the Moon still lived in the Heavenly Palace, winter did come once. It all began when the then sixteen-year-old found a book in the Grand Library that spoke of how snow, made entirely out of water, fell in certain parts of the Human World. Curious, she had begged the Lord of Izumo to let her see with her own eyes what the book talked about. The man, surprisingly, granted her request without a second thought.

With his transcending powers, Izanagi summoned the clouds, chilled the winds, and produced a wonderful blanket of snow that enveloped everything in sight. Yue had been so delighted then that she had spent an entire day throwing snowballs at anybody within her firing range and building snowmen. And Yui had been there with her, playing by her side, watching her laugh happily whenever her snowballs hit a target, and thinking to herself that how beautiful the Goddess of the Moon looked when she was enjoying herself. It had been one of the memories that Yui always cherished.

Sighing, she pushed the images back into the depth of her mind. Keep thinking about it... and she might just burst into tears again.

_"Let's stop now, Fuyu-chan,"_ Yui sent out a message after shutting down her bracelet. _"We might just blast the gate open were we to go on."_

_"As you command, Yui-sama,"_ the reply rushed back.

The reverse process began with the fading of the Dispenser Ring, followed by the withdrawal of the Piercing Fiveinto their underground facilities. After the five gemstone Drives had been completely deactivated, the heavens grew gentle once more. Yui couldn't resist a chuckle. So the _weather control module_ part was not a complete lie after all. After all, the Dimension Breaker did alter the weather drastically and caused considerable damage to the forest around the Heart of the Underworld. Thanks to this demonstration, however, Yui had learned that it worked perfectly well. Forty percent of its capacity, and it very nearly ripped the fabrics of space apart. Were it to operate at full power... She chuckled in great delight as she turned and climbed down the light of stair leading back to the control room in the Rosenkyuu. _It is high time you receive the backlash of what you have done to me, to Yue, and to her children, Father,_ she thought.

* * *

Sitting on his bed, Oogami Souma gingerly poked his forefinger at a few places on his arms and belly. Although no wounds were visible, no traces left to tell the tale of his humiliating defeat by the Eye of Luna, it still hurt for reasons he failed to comprehend. Well, not that he was complaining. It was a miracle that he was still alive after what happened the night before. Besides, these jolts of pain were nothing compared to what he had felt while the Priestess of the Moon flung him violently from one place in the sky to another. Last night, after they had deployed the Shinken Sealing Field to stop Himemiya Chikane from claiming his life, they had invoked every ounce of skill they had to mend his bone, revitalize his muscles, fill his veins with blood, and close the wounds on his skin. Unlike the last time they laid their hands on him, this time they succeeded. Despite the fact that the Orochi power within him still repelled the Protector's healing, they managed to suppress it and delay the toll of judgment. His brother the High Priest told him upon waking that he should be thankful that the holy light of Kagetsuki had taken out so much of his Orochi power that they were no longer strong enough to stop the Protectors from healing him.

"Nonsense," he scoffed. Had it not been for the Eye of Heaven, he wouldn't have needed saving in the first place.

Muttering darkly about crazy girls and ridiculous swords, he rose to his feet and walked to his closet, where he ignored his Ototachibana uniform – the Gods knew how much he would hate to go to school today – and picked out a simple suede jacket and a pair of trousers. All his movements ceased immediately, however, as soon as his eyes fell on a little object sitting in one of the dark corners. It was a present box gift-wrapped in silver foil. Its top was attached with an elegantly tied ribbon and a small note card upon which Kurusugawa Himeko's neat and cursive handwriting could be seen. It read, _"Happy birthday, Chikane-chan."_ He felt his stomach lurch as he took the small box into his hand.

On the day following his childhood friend's birthday, he had found this little present floating on the surface of the swimming pool in Tate University Hospital, where he also found the girl and Himemiya Chikane taking shelter from the rain. He had picked it up, read the note attached to it, and intended to return it to its rightful owner. Only... that his curiosity had gotten the best of him at that time and compelled him to use his powers to learn just exactly what lay inside. He did, and found out to his horror that it was a sapphire ring. Others might think it nothing out of the ordinary, they might dismiss it and see it as just a simple present a girl might give her friend on her birthday, but Souma knew better than that. He could still recall what she had told him years ago, when both of them were still kids and living in Tokyo, that she would present a ring to no one except the person she had chosen to be her romantic interest. It only hurt him more at that time, when he thought back and realized that she never intended to give him one.

That had been when he decided to toss the present into his closet and pretended that he never picked it up.

_And now that Himemiya has betrayed us, there is no reason for me to keep this any longer,_ he thought as purple lightning flared from his fingertips.

"Just snap out of it already, Kurusugawa-san!" roared the voice of the High Priest from the floor below. Souma blinked before she unconsciously shoved the box his hand into his pocket and hastily ran out of the room. During the time he lived with Kazuki-nii-san, he had never heard the man shout even once. And now that the man had, it could be nothing good. Especially when he seemed to be shouting at the Priestess of the Sun.

* * *

Yui the Goddess of the Sun had just barely sat down on her bed when she heard someone knocking on her door. Usually, she would be able to learn the identity of the visitor simply by expanding her perception senses but today, the day following her awaking from within the emerald liquid that had saved her life, she was still unable to manipulate an fraction of her powers. Still, not that it would matter much, of course, seeing that right now, she was in the Heart of the Underworld, the great city protected by the power of the Crystal Rose, that which without fail sealed off the magical capabilities of any and all foreign entities. As she was neither Reiha-born nor had stayed here for more than a year, she was weaker than the weakest Immortal inhabiting the Heart.

"May I come in, Yui-sama?" the voice of Tsukazaki Fuyura said.

"Of course," Yui replied.

The door opened and admitted the young Chancellor of the Underworld, whose raven hair only stopped at her waist, whose slender body was clad elegantly in an outfit that clearly denoted her rank, and whose face betrayed absolutely no emotion until her obsidian eyes locked onto Yui's own. It was only then did her visage soften and her lips curve upward in a friendly smile.

Yui couldn't help but wonder whether it was truly a coincidence that all the girls who were involved with the Regent of the Underworld shared one specific trait. Her daughter, the Goddess of the Moon for instant, was particularly famous for her stone-cold face and her sharp silver stare, both of which more often than not made people aside from her family want to avert their eyes and leap down the mouth of some fuming volcano to warm themselves up. Very few were aware that deep down, Yue hid a temper that was perhaps as hot as the lava of said volcano.

She chuckled quietly. Regardless of what other people thought of the Goddess of the Moon, she still found the silver-haired beauty the cutest girl in the Creation Realm. She didn't think they would believe her were she to say that she actually looked forward to a severe scolding from Yue every time she pulled her tricks on some unsuspecting soul and got caught in the act. She knew that her childhood friend told her off because she cared, because she couldn't bear seeing Yui punished by her father, and because she didn't want Yui getting hurt. Yue had never been aware that the desire to hear the hidden caress in her voice over and over again was what spurred Yui on to wreak even more havoc upon the Holy City.

On that same note, Tsukazaki Haruhi and Tsukazaki Fuyura were very similar to the daughter of their liege lady when it came to beautiful faces that inspired apprehension more than admiration and frosty attitudes. The main difference between them was that the sisters skilled were manipulators at heart, which in turn made them far more dangerous than the Goddess of the Moon. Haruhi, a formidable strategist and a true heartbreaker, was such a good actress that no one except for her twin sister had ever been able to figure out what she was thinking at any given time. Fuyura, the renowned precision machine of the Underworld, was a straightforward girl who always spoke her mind without a single care whom she might offend. No less than twice she had called Yui a fool to her face just because she resisted their attempts to bring her to the Underworld. She turned to a real sweetheart, however, whenever romantic interest was around. The raven-haired girl was even willing to try making strawberry cheesecakes with her own hands so that she could give them to the person she loved. Yui still couldn't figure out why that person still hadn't fallen head over heels in love with Fuyura yet.

The list ended with the name of Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne, the person that the world did not want to mess with. Single-minded and having absolutely no interest in learning what was right or wrong, she balanced on the razor edge between good and evil and would not mind if she had to dip on _either_ side to get what she wanted. Like Fuyura, she was a sweet and fiercely devoted lover to the person who held her heart. Unlike Fuyura, she was a nightmare to anyone who crossed her or her romantic interest. Even Yui didn't want to be on Rinne's bad side.

"I just heard from Izanami-sama that you are leaving for Onogoro soon, Yui-sama?" The young Chancellor's voice brought her back to reality.

"As soon as my powers have fully returned." She nodded and then added with a smile, "Are you sad to see me go?"

"Well... yes..." Fuyura admitted. "With you here, I have someone to talk to and take my mind off of... well... you-know-who." She turned a light pink color.

"Why don't you seek your sister's advice? She's very... ehm... experienced." Heaven alone knew how many men Tsukazaki Haruhi had dated and dumped on the same day. Saying that she was a player was pretty much an understatement.

"Fat chance," the Crystal Rose Guardian muttered. "Haruhi had never fallen in love. She is simply going around and dating any pretty man she sees. Sometimes I wish that you would just introduce Susanou no Mikoto to her and have her settle down for good." She heaved an exasperated sigh. "I am tired of seeing her with a different boyfriend every single day."

Yui laughed. Her little brother, inarguably the most handsome man in the Three Worlds, was irresistible to most women, and some men. As such, he was certainly qualified to be the first person to make Fuyura's elder sister fall in love, seeing how she had a penchant for boys with pretty faces.

"Besides, I doubt Haruhi can help with my problem," the girl continued. "She has never dated a woman before." Suddenly, she clamped her mouth shut and shot Yui an accusing glance. She chuckled aloud. "In any case, I came here to show you something."

"What may it be?"

"Footage concerning a certain young man in Onogoro," replied the Crystal Rose Guardian. "The I.S.R. agents under me have been gathering information on him for about a week now."

"Why are you monitoring him?" Yui blinked in surprise.

"Because he is a very suspicious man. Do you remember the last day we met in Mahoroba City, Yui-sama?" She continued after a nod from Yui, "My sister and I bumped into him on that very same day, when we walked out from a Dimensional Portal. We immediately thought that there was more to him that meets the eye, for he was able to see through the elaborate barriers woven by Izanami-sama herself. That was why I mobilized the agents to find out more about him."

"Did you?"

"Yes, but not much," Fuyura said. Yui blinked again in surprise. It was granted that if the I.S.R. agents, spies who could match the Holy Messengers in term of skills, wanted to, they could learn everything about someone's background and dig out scraps that someone never knew existed. For them to fail in investigating the young man that Fuyura just spoke of was simply unbelievable. "His name is Yukihito, and he is the personal assistant to the Shingetsu High Priest. That is all that we discovered. No other background information could be found. As far as the mortal's population-control system is concerned, he does not exist."

"That means a God," Yui decided, "most likely a Messenger."

"We believe so," the raven-haired girl continued. "According to my agents' report, Yukihito lives and works in the Grand Shrine. No other mortal ever noticed that he could only be seen in the afternoon and the evening. Food was delivered to his door, beyond which no one is allowed to put a step."

"Have you been monitoring the dimensional gate-in and gate-out activities in the Grand Shrine?"

"We have," the Chancellor nodded, "but detected none."

"Troubling indeed." Yui gave her lips a thoughtful tap.

"Most troubling of all is the fact that Yukihito enjoys the full support of the Holy Messenger Division. Those relentless people did their very best to interfere with the agents' job." Her mouth twisted in distaste. "They tried to pretend that they were there by happenstance, but you know what kind of horrible actors they are. A blind person could see right through their act."

"They were ever fools." Yui laughed. "Skillful as spies, yes, but fools nonetheless." She fell quiet after a while, though. "Why are you telling me this, Fuyu-chan?"

"I would not have," announced the Guardian, "had the Regent not asked me to bring it to your attention. She believed that you would be delighted to know."

"How interesting." Yui frowned.

"Would you like to see the footage?"

"I would love to." She gave her friend a smile.

The young Chancellor then took out her PDA and projected onto the air a large holographic screen on which Yui could spot a man walking across the Shingetsu Grand Shrine precinct. At first glance, all she saw was a man, if an unusually handsome one, but when she focused in on him and noticed the way he carried himself and the way he made his face look stony, she knew.

Yui burst into laughter, thinking that perhaps after a long time of torturing her, destiny had decided to become her ally. With this knowledge of the man who named himself Yukihito, her plan had just become infinitely easier to execute.

* * *

When Yukihito stepped out from his room in Shingetsu Grand Shrine, he had on his left hand a tray upon which stood an empty bowl and a pair of chopsticks. Although the kitchen seemed to think that he loved their food so much he never had leftover, the truth was that he only ate what they prepared for him once, on the very first day that he moved into the Shrine. He never failed to experience a shivering chill whenever he recalled his first time gulping them down afterwards. Had the chef been in Yukihito's service, he would have fired him and made sure the man would never find a job again in the culinary world. He still had not figured out why the Priests, including Oogami Kazuki himself, always praised the food up and down as though they were first-rate cuisines. _They are not!_ he thought in horror.

Sighing, he closed the door to his room with his vacant hand and treaded down the empty corridor. After a few minutes, he found himself in the Shrine precinct, where diligent Priests were raking up the dead leaves into piles that they would burn later. On high, the sun was retreating toward a blood-red horizon. A couple of hours from now, three at most, stars would light up the heavens in the welcoming of the serene October night. And then majestic moon would come and dominate all with its silver luminescence. Yukihito's feet instinctively pressed harder into the ground littered by yellow leaves that had lost all signs of life. Muttering darkly to himself, he continued walking straight toward the kitchen and ignored the Priests who called out to him in a friendly manner. He was in no mood to talk to them today, seeing how everything had not been going the way he wanted for the last week or so.

Before he could reach the kitchen, though, he heard the voice of the High Priest booming like thunder from the distance. He was so surprised that he stopped dead in his track. Once his shock had faded – he had never believed that the middle-aged man was capable of anger – he put the tray on the ground and hurried toward the direction of the shout. There he found several Shingetsu Priests gathering around an infuriated Oogami Kazuki, who apparently was involved in a fight with his adopted brother, the traitorous Seventh Head. Near where the Oogami siblings stood, both of them red-faced and making furious gestures with their hands, was the Priestess of the Sun. The golden-haired girl was sitting with her back leaning against one of the supporting beams, body clad in a casual yukata, amethyst eyes imprinted with grief words alone could not convey. Her face was drenched with tears. Her mouth, slightly opened, revealed a pair of lip swollen with teeth marks and stained with blood dried to a dark crimson color. The girl never went easy on herself while crying, it appeared.

Before he knew what he was doing, his hand had already clutched at his chest. The sight of Kurusugawa made his heart ache, for it reminded him of something disturbing. An unblinking pair of eyes on a pale face suitable on a corpse, an unmoving man sitting in a room of illusion, staring at nothing while being eternally chained to the darkness. For three thousand years that sight had haunted his dreams and plagued his conscience. For three millennia that sight had refused to leave him be. It hurt. It truly hurt.

"Stay out of my way, Souma!" the High Priest growled. "I need to teach her a lesson."

"In her current condition?" the boy retorted. "You're nuts, nii-san! Leave her alone!"

"I don't have time for that! The fate of the world is on her shoulder, don't you see? I can't afford to have her zoning out just because of a _stupid_ crush!"

"But she's mentally unstable right now!" The Orochi Seventh Head planted himself in front of the High Priest when the older man tried to walk past him. The latter's eyes narrowed dangerously while the former's face firmed with determination. They began to stare at each other like two wet cats caught in the same place. Yukihito quietly shook his head. Grown men... fighting like children... It was the first time he saw such a thing. "Push her and she may just _break!"_

_"I'll take my chances!"_ Oogami Kazuki roared and shoved his brother aside._ "Off with you, now!" _

The traitor of a Follower, mighty and proud, fell over in shock. As his bottom landed on the wooden floor, something fell out from his pocket and rolled all the way to the side of the Priestess of the Sun. It was a little pretty present box gift-wrapped in silver foil. Unaware that he had dropped something, the younger Oogami sprang up to his feet fiercely and resumed his shouting match with the other. All other spectators were so engrossed in looking, some even seemed amused, or trying to take the two apart that they never realized that Kurusugawa Himeko had reached out her hand and picked up the present box. Only Yukihito had his eyes on the golden-haired girl, who stared at what now stood atop her palm before she held it closer to her heart and began to weep in silence. Tears spilled out from the overflowing wells of her eyes.

It was as though the sun itself had emerged where she sat. Deep within her soul, powers were born and raised until they filled to bursting every fiber of her existence. Golden aura flooded out from the Priestess's body then, suffusing the space around her with the heat of the burning star. Winds fled from the heart of the light, howling and screaming. Torrential currents of celestial energies raced unrestrained and unchecked as they beat up against Yukihito's own body with the intensity of the ocean waves beneath the storm-plagued heavens. At this very moment, the golden-haired girl's potential had very much amounted to that of a middle-ranked Goddess. Surprised, he instinctively took a step backward. He did not recall ever permitting the R&D Division of Izumo to give either of the Kannazuki Priestesses so much power. _Then where the hell does this strength of hers come from?_ he thought in exasperation and frustration.

"What the...?" Oogami Kazuki exclaimed, evidently shocked.

That was all he could utter, however, for he was immediately forced to use his arms to shield his eyes as he retreated from the sitting place of Kurusugawa Himeko along with the other Priests. Since they had no way of seeing where they were going – the light was so blindingly bright that Yukihito doubted they could see anything were they brave enough to open their eyes – some tripped and fell flat on their stomach. Not that the injuries they accrued from their continuous falls could compare to the damage that was being inflicted upon the body of the young master of the Grand Shrine who, as an Orochi at the very core of his existence, was finding the holy light of a Priestess little less harmful than a knife to a mortal's heart. On the wooden floor a stone's throw away from the girl of his dream Oogami Souma, who was now down on his knees and shaking uncontrollably while smoke rise from his fully clothed body. His pupils were vibrating at the speed of light, his mouth hanging wide open, yet the boy could not utter a single word. Before, the light had never hurt him because Kurusugawa Himeko never wanted it to. It was a different story now, when agony had overwhelmed her heart and rendered her incapable of distinguishing between friends and foes.

Yukihito sighed. Should he allow this go on, the Grand Shrine would be laid to waste under the fierce assaults of Kurusugawa Himeko's unrestricted strength. He scanned the vicinity. Shingetsu had been immersed in this aura maelstrom, all the people within it trying their best to keep their eyes from going blind. None would see. And of course, with the Priestess of the Sun's powers running rampant so, the spies from the Underworld would never notice if he cast some little spell.

Yukihito fell down on one knee in front of the Priestess. The girl was still crying while having no clue that the heat from her would eventually burned the spiritual stronghold of Mahoroba down to ashes. When he pulled a palm over her eyes, he felt tears drenching it soaked.

"You have suffered enough, poor child," he whispered. "Rest now, and wake up to your destiny." He unleashed his powers.

The golden light winked out of existence along with the scorching flame it had wrought. Immediately afterwards, Kurusugawa Himeko fell into Yukihito's arms and passed out. Looking at her, he again sensed his heart ache. Sometimes he found himself wishing that living in the same place as the Shingetsu High Priest had never taught him the meaning of guilt.

"What... what just happened?" Oogami Kazuki breathed as he approached the golden-haired girl. The High Priest's reddened skin gave Yukihito the impression that the man just spent his entire day on a beach.

"Only the Gods know, sensei," he replied calmly.

"Is she okay, Yukihito-san?" Oogami Souma asked, his voice racked with worries. The boy, despite sustaining more damage than the others, was now able to move around. Not that his insides were not giving him hell, Yukihito suspected. Had there not been a slew of spectators watching his every moment and listening to everything he said, the Seventh Head of the Orochi would have been thrashing in pain on the ground right at this moment. The boy had great control on his body, Yukihito had to give him that.

Murmuring to the boy that the girl of his dream was not in any immediate danger, he carried Kurusugawa to the futon in the middle of her room, where he laid her gently on her back before pulling the blanket over her shoulders. Even in her sleep, the Priestess of the Sun looked like she was crying still. Yukihito's heart gave another slight jolt. Trying to convince himself that it was not his fault that she ended up in this miserable state and that he only did what he had to do, he whispered something that was too soft to be heard. "Please forgive me, child." He suspected that when the girl knew what he had done, she never would.

"You two," Oogami Kazuki picked out two of the Priests in the yard and said. "Watch over Kurusugawa-san. Make sure nothing happens to her."

"As you wish, Oogami-sama." The elderly men bowed respectfully.

The High Priest then stormed off, looking as though he would trample on anyone who stood in his way. The man was very still crossed with the Priestess of the Sun, Yukihito suppose. Not afraid in the least bit, however, the traitorous Orochi Follower ran after him, his face painted with a thousand questions that needed to be answered. Thinking that he needed some to his own inquiries, Yukihito followed them.

"This wasn't like you, nii-san," Souma muttered darkly as he walked shoulder to shoulder with the current leader of the Oogami Clan. "Why were you so rude to Himeko?"

"You'd do the same if you were in my shoes, Souma," Kazuki answered roughly. "How do you expect me to keep calm when she acted that way? The world's survival hangs on a string and she wouldn't stop thinking about someone who is already dead!"

"Nii-san," Souma frowned at the older man's back, "you mean Himemiya?" It was then that they reached the High Priest's study, in which Yukihito had been working for the last few years.

"Yes." Oogami Kazuki nodded before he opened the door and settled down on the tatami mat. The man's face was deeply troubled, his mouth's corners tight with irritation, yet his eyes were shining with a very strange light that urged Yukihito to ignore all of his principles and just read the damned mortal's mind. He did not, for the very idea of breaking the rules that he himself set forth terrified him.

"But she's still alive and kicking," Souma said grudgingly as he sat down opposite the High Priest, sounding not quite pleased. Yukihito contended himself with sitting next to the Orochi Seventh Head. "If she's dead, then who's in her place right now?"

"Someone who calls herself Kannazuki Aoi," Kazuki replied, his voice unusually quiet and oddly uncertain. "The Original Priestess of the Moon, so to speak."

"The Original!" Souma exclaim in utmost disbelief. "Impossible! She died three thousand years ago! It didn't make sense!"

"Here's what I'd venture, Souma." The older Oogami heaved a deep sigh. "It isn't really Aoi who killed the current Priestess of the Moon, for Himemiya Chikane _is_ Kannazuki Aoi reincarnated. The true murderer was a remnant of the Original Priestess's emotion."

"A remnant?" the boy asked dubiously. He sounded as though someone had just revealed to him that the moon was made entirely out of cheese.

"Yes." Oogami Kazuki nodded. "A remnant of emotion so strong it survives the passage of three millennia. A piece of hatred against the Priestess of the Sun so great it has gained a will of its own. It was really what had devoured Himemiya-san's soul and taken over her body."

Yukihito kept silent. It was a believable explanation but...

"Kannazuki Aoi hates Himeko?" The Seventh Head blinked. "I thought they were comrades!"

"More than _just_ comrades," the leader of the Oogami Clan corrected. "The Priestesses... well... they used to be lovers, Souma."

_"Lovers!"_ The boy made a choking sound in his throat. "No wonder in this life they..." He clamped his mouth shut with an audible click of his teeth. His facial expression grew sour and his hands clenched into fists.

"It seems so," the High Priest said carefully as he eyed his adopted brother in a very surreptitious fashion. The older man was aware of what the younger one felt toward the Sun Priestess, no doubt. Furthermore, he must have predicted from the very beginning that his brother was not going to succeeding in conquering the heart of the girl he loved, for many times Yukihito had noticed the man sighing in sadness when he happened to mention Oogami Souma and Kurusugawa Himeko in the same sentence.

"Yet, they still turned against each other in the end," the Orochi Seventh Head mumbled almost to himself. Without reading the boy's mind, Yukihito could not really tell whether he was happy or sad about that little fact. "Why?"

"I wish you were there when I explained it to Kurusugawa-san." Kazuki sighed. "I wouldn't have to do it again now."

"Please, nii-san," Souma pleaded. "I bet Yukihito-san wants to know too. Don't you?" Dark eyes swiveled to Yukihito and implored him to say yes.

"Eh... yes," he answered, still a little bit surprised from being dragged into the conversation so all of a sudden.

"It all began three thousand years ago, as you have known," the Shingetsu High Priest began in a resigned manner, "when the Dark God fled Izumo the Holy City."

* * *

Standing in a corner of the Audience Hall, the great wooden chamber situated at the very top of the Temple of the Dragons, Saotome Makoto quietly observed Himemiya Chikane, who was standing in front of the Crystal Orb that housed the body of the Dark God. Next to Makoto was the First Head Tsubasa, his dark eyes boring like drills at the back of the Priestess. They were the only two Heads present at the moment. The cat-fanatic Hibiki Shizuku was being tended to in her quarters by both the Fourth and the Fifth Heads, the latter not exactly happy about being in the same place as the former. Girochi Miyako, despite her lack of injuries, was also cowering in her own room, possibly in the protective arms of her little brother the Third Head. _Weakling,_ Makoto thought.

"With your power of temptation, Orochi Lord, you tricked the humans into accepting you as their one and only deity," commented Himemiya Chikane, who seemed unaffected by the immense waves of power that was radiating from the glowing Orb. "They were drawn in hordes like moths to a flame, bees to honey, teetering forward on the path to destruction." From the way the blue-haired girl made her gestures and controlled the pitch of her musical voice, one would have thought that she was a skilled storyteller relating a tale that she herself had experienced. Makoto did not doubt she had.

"I ask you to tell me about the Immortals' plan, not _my_ life story, Priestess," the Crystal Orb pulsed with its ever-changing light. He sounded impatient and slightly displeased.

"As your number and your influence upon the world below grew out of proportions, the Immortals began to be afraid," the rich girl continued as though she hadn't heard anything from the Dark God. "Despite the efforts of Heaven's most seasoned strategists and politicians, who wished to declare war on you, Izanagi the Lord of Izumo knew he could not. He was well aware that it was the _humans_ who had invited you into their folds. Being a stickler with rules to the core of his existence, Izanagi refused to break the law he and the Regent of the Underworld had set forth since the beginning of time. _No Immortals are allowed to interfere in the affairs of the Human World._

"Still, Izumo refused to let you do as you wished. Days and nights they schemed, hoping to find a way to remove you without dirtying their hands. To their indescribably joy, they did." The Priestess of the Moon flashed the Crystal Orb an insolent smile. "They learned from you, Orochi Lord. It was you who had them wondering if they could have some _humans_ summoning into Onogoro a second God, one who could vanquish you and restore order to the land. They decided that they could, thus they began to consider names for that specific task. Finally, they came up with one."

_"Ame no Murakumo," _the Dark God whispered.

"Indeed." Himemiya Chikane nodded. "The God of Swords is the strongest of all save the Makers. He would have been the perfect candidate... had it not been for a little detail." She scanned the entire Chamber with her sapphire eyes, which paused for only a brief second at Makoto's face before it swept to that of the First Head. "As you are all aware, Ame no Murakumo had lain imprisoned beneath the surface of the Moon years before our Dark God descended on the Human World. Neither did he move nor do anything else to prove that he was anything more than a breathing corpse. The Sword God, mighty as he was, could not be trusted with the mission to rid the world of the Orochi. Despite that, Izanagi and his cunning aides, the Celestial Assembly, succeeded in devising a plan that would help them overcome the obstacle. They figured out that it was possible to turn Ame no Murakumo into a puppet that could easily be controlled. Such was the idea that led to the creation of Project Kannazuki and the birth of the Priestesses.

"The first and foremost thing Izanagi and the Assembly needed to do was to find Ame no Murakumo's suitable Summoners. For that, they looked into the Cycle of Death and Rebirth and reeled out two strongest mortal souls they could lay hands on. Those two humans happened to be two girls, who were brought to life in the crystal artificial wombs of Heaven's R&D Division, whose potentials were enhanced even more to cope with the destiny chosen for them before birth. One of the two was I, the other, my childhood friend and former comrade, Akari the Priestess of the Sun." A shadow of sadness stole across the Moon Priestess's face. "Bearing the codename Kannazuki as our family name despite being unrelated by blood, we were delivered into the custody of Tsukiyomi the Goddess of the Moon, who raised us and loved us as her own daughters. Under the roof of the Lunar Shrine, we were taught the way of the swords and learned to control our powers. There, we waited until it was time for us to fulfill our role." Toward the end, her complexion darkened in what seemed to be anger and her voice grew much colder and more murderous. Makoto understood perfectly why. After all, Susanou had informed her all about that inhuman Project.

"During the first seventeen years of mine and Akari's lives, the Celestial Assembly continuously broadcasted a message to the Human World," the Priestess continued after pausing to take a breath. "Mortals rejoiced at the news that a Savior God was coming to their aid and that the two holy Maidens would bestow upon them the miracle they had been praying for. Even against the usual raids of the Orochi minions, shrines were erected to honor our names and to give the spark of faith a place to live. Leading those shrines, of course, was the great Shingetsu Grand Shrine. Little did they, or we the Priestesses, know what we were supposed to do to rid Onogoro of you."

Suddenly, Himemiya Chikane's sapphire eyes darted toward an empty corner of the Audience Chamber while a knowing smile curved her lips. Makoto frowned. _What was she looking at?_

"On our seventeenth birthday, Akari and I were ordered to return to Izumo," the blue-haired girl smoothly picked up where she left off as though nothing had happened. "There, the Celestial Assembly made their objectives known. There, the Goddess of the Moon broke into tears as she heard how one of her daughters was going to _die_ by the other's sword as a sacrifice. Yes, the so-called Summoners of Ame no Murakumo were in fact tools for the Immortals to achieve their purpose. We were pawns that they felt no remorse to kill when they needed to."

"Why?" Tsubasa demanded, his voice cracking like a whip.

"The Sword God's Seal requires it," Himemiya answered without looking at the First Head. Her eyes, once again, were on the empty corner. Makoto began to find the smile on the girl's face very irritating. "Only the pure blood of a Priestess could temporarily dissolve the spells that kept Ame no Murakumo bound. Only the life force of a Maiden with untainted Innocence could invoke the second function of the Twin Swords of the Sacred Light."

"And the one whose blood must flow was you, wasn't it?" Makoto asked suddenly.

"If it was not I, would the Priestess of the Moon flee to the side of a Dark God?" answered the Priestess of the Moon in such a way that Makoto thought that she had been waiting for the question.

"Of course not," Makoto muttered in response. The answer was what Makoto had expected. She believed she had an idea of what the girl was planning to do now.

"Why were there two Priestesses when only you needed to be sacrificed?" The Commander of the Followers wasn't satisfied.

"Because someone has to stay behind to act as Ame no Murakumo's puppet master," the Priestess replied smoothly. She seemed ready for any question thrown at her, for that matter. Makoto guessed that the girl had prepared herself very carefully before she came to the Orochi lair. "Once the Sword God was out of his cage, the surviving Priestess would use her powers to seize his mind through her own Eye of Heaven and have him defeat her enemy."

"How thoroughly planned." The Dark God laughed and made the entire chamber tremble in his mirth. He sounded genuinely amused. "How sneaky and ruthless. How ironic, too, that they named _me_ evil when they could devise such a thing."

"Indeed." The Priestess of the Moon smiled a very frosty smile. Makoto and Tsubasa didn't share their amusement, though. She did not know about the First Head, who studied Himemiya Chikane with unconcealed suspicions, but she herself was still unsure as to whether she should expose the truth about the Himemiya heiress. After a while of struggling with her own mind, she decided to keep her mouth shut and watch as the events unfold all on their own. One wrong step could destroy everything she held dear, and that she did not want to happen.

"But Priestess of the Moon, the same could be said of you." The Crystal Orb was still shaking under its inhabitant's laughter. "Your capability for evil is definitely amazing. Why, I almost felt sorry for the Priestess of the Sun when you tortured her." The word hit Makoto like a kick in the gut.

_"What?!"_ she roared.

"You do not know, my child? But of course, you were away," the Dark God said cheerfully. "The Priestess of the Moon here had declared war against Heaven by turning against her comrade-in-arms. She would have killed Kurusugawa Himeko, too, had it not been for our meddlesome Seventh Head."

_"You hurt Himeko?"_ Tasogare leaped up from Makoto's shadow. Lava-hot rage bloomed in her heart. Her vision became blood-red with murderous intentions. _"How could you?!" _Just when she was about to toss herself at the Priestess of the Moon and dismember the blue-haired girl with the Sealed Sword, Tsubasa stepped in front of her with his hand raised. His face was stone-cold, and the sense of power radiating from him was menacing.

"There shall be no drawing weapons in the Hall unless the Lord commands it," the First Head declared icily. "Behave yourself, Eighth Head."

"You asked how I could hurt her, Orochi," the Priestess said in her serene voice, her sapphire eyes locked with Makoto's emerald, the corners of her mouth quirked upward into a knowing smile "How could I _not?" _Still overwhelmed by unspeakable anger, Makoto only snarled wordlessly at her while seriously considering making the First Head yield should the man continue to block her way. She guessed Tsubasa knew what she was planning, for he frowned at her and acted as though he wanted to summon his Sword/

"Explain yourself, Priestess of the Moon," the Dark God commanded.

"Because Kannazuki Akari is a heartless and cruel betrayer." For one split second, Makoto sensed genuine anguish rising in the Priestess's soul, which had been calm as a frozen pond since the very start. "The worst kind of them all."

_"Lies!"_ Makoto fired back at the other girl. "One more untrue word about her and I'll kill you, Himemiya!" The energies inside the First Head's body began to increase. Makoto thought that he meant to stop her regardless of the fact that she was the stronger between them. She suddenly darted her eyes at the Crystal Orb and wondered whether the Dark God was capable of forcibly reclaiming Tasogare. The very thought stayed her hand.

"Untrue word?" The blue-haired girl chuckled. "You have no clue what kind of person the past incarnation of your precious friend was, Orochi Eighth Head."

"Let me get this straight, Priestess of the Moon," said the Dark God's awful voice. For some reason, Makoto sensed a note of warning in Yamata no Orochi's words. She knew that it was meant for her. "Since you called her that, it means your former comrade Akari went ahead with Project Kannazuki, I presume."

"Correct, Orochi Lord."

"So you hold a grudge against her for killing you?"

"Obvious, is it not?" the Priestess of the Moon replied in a calm voice.

"Perfect." The Dark God laughed. "A very good motive to join the rank of the Orochi. However, there is only one question left unasked, Himemiya Chikane."

"What may that be?" The blue-haired girl tilted her head and smiled at the Crystal Orb.

"Why do you think we will let you live?"

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Before Makoto knew it, Tsubasa had summoned his Hokuto the Star Blade and put its edge next to the rich girl's throat. Any other person would have jumped away in order to prevent themselves from being cornered. Any other person would have reacted and drawn her weapon to protect her own life. Not Himemiya Chikane, who simply stood there and gazing ahead as though the fearsome Hokuto did not exist. Her eerie calmness placed Makoto under the impression that should the blue-haired girl choose to, she could put herself out of harm's way and destroy the First Head where he stood. Tsubasa obviously shared the same thought, for his face hardened in anger and his hand put the Star Blade an inch closer to the Priestess's skin. He seemed a bow string on the verge of release. Should his hostage twitch a muscle, he would behead her regardless what order his liege lord might give.

"You have told us that your blood is the _only_ key to rouse my archenemy from his sleep," the Dark God continued in his soft yet ever dangerous voice. "Is it not better, say, that we eliminate you just in case?"

"That is one of the options." The blue-haired girl smiled and nodded. Anybody would have sworn that she would have done the same thing were she asked whether she wanted to buy a rug. "But do think about it, Orochi Lord. You would be digging your own grave." Her voice, melodious as ever, showed no signs of fear. She ought to have steel wires for nerves, Makoto thought. She herself wouldn't be so calm in the girl's boots.

"Is that so?"

"Killing me will send my soul back to the endless Cycle of Death and Rebirth," the Priestess announced, "where, may I remind you, the Celestial Assembly hold sway. Seventeen years later, there shall be a new Priestess of the Moon, one that will be as meek and tamed as a lamb, one that will not hesitate in embracing her destiny as a sacrifice. But this time, I doubt the Immortals of Heaven will let yours truly be there to spoil their plan. Say, Orochi Lord, you may have seventeen years to do as you please but after that, can you stop Project Kannazuki from being carried out once more?" Her smile widened.

Yamata no Orochi harrumphed loudly.

"If we, Kagetsuki and I, are on your side, it will be a different story. For so long as I live, the Eye of Luna shall stay by _my_ side, where the Gods cannot lay a finger on, much less reclaim." Himemiya's words rang in triumph. She knew she had won. "Without both of the Eyes of Heaven, Izumo will never be able to produce a third Priestess. And that means..."

"Ame no Murakumo cannot be summoned," the Orochi Lord finished Himemiya's sentence. "The world is ours."

"Do _we_ not want that?" the blue-haired girl asked in a sweet and seductive voice.

"Of course we do." The Crystal Orb shone brighter than ever. "Welcome, Priestess of the Moon, to the rank of the Followers!" The Commander of the Followers withdrew his Sword at the cue in the Dark God's tone and retreated to the corner where he once stood. The First Head's unsmiling face did not change a hair.

Both Makoto's liege lord and the Priestess of the Moon began to laugh in such a great amusement that anyone could have thought that the two were close friends from the very start. Meanwhile, Tsubasa only narrowed his eyes at the Priestess's head as though trying to bore through her skull. The man was sharp. He, too, had noticed that something was wrong with the girl's seemingly honest story.

_"Do you think that she was lying, Eighth Head?"_ his voice whispered in Makoto's head. He wasn't asking a question. He was seeking confirmation. The tone of his voice made that very clear.

_"She didn't,"_ she answered truthfully. _"I've been checking her soul from the beginning of the questioning."_ She was certain that the First Head, careful and cunning as any villain ever lived, had done the same.

_"Did you read her memories?" _

_"I couldn't,"_ Makoto admitted grudgingly. _"She locked it up with mental barriers too strong for me to break." _That fact in it self was unsettling.

_"I see."_ The man felled quiet afterwards and appeared to be chasing his own thoughts. He was indeed a very wise man.

Her head filled with doubts, Makoto turned around and walked out of the Audience Chamber, leaving behind the Dark God, Tsubasa, and the girl who claimed to be Kannazuki Aoi the Original Priestess of the Moon. The blue-haired girl, whoever she was, did not lie. Yet, she neither told the truth, which Makoto was about to wrestle out of her however hard she tried to keep it in.

* * *

When Yukihito and Oogami Souma departed from the Shingetsu High Priest's study, they did not walk in the same direction. While the Orochi Seventh Head walked toward the kitchen – obviously looking for food – and muttered about a certain Priestess that he thought coward and selfish, Yukihito headed back to his own room and thought to himself that the boy still had a very long way to go before he achieved the maturity and the cleverness of his adoptive brother. Not that he blamed the traitor of a Follower for thinking about Kannazuki Aoi in such a negative way, though. Anybody who heard the tale told from the High Priest's mouth would be led toward the same conclusion. Yukihito glanced over his shoulder at Oogami Kazuki, who was sitting at the wooden ledge in front of his room and staring bleakly at the twilight sky, and thought, _I see what you are planning, High Priest._

A short walk brought Yukihito back in his own room, barely in time to hear the phone on the table ring exactly three times, become silent for a minute, and then go off three more times before it truly shut up. It was no call from anywhere in the Human World, he realized, for such a ringing pattern was a secret code that none save him and his trusted aide knew. He wondered what the other man wanted to speak with him so urgently for. If it was not the emergency that the secret code claimed it to be, Yukihito was going to make his aide wish that he had never punched those damn dials. After all, with the Underworld spies sitting practically on top of him, he could not afford traveling between the two Worlds any more than absolutely necessary.

Once he had made sure that the door to his room had been properly locked and sealed, Yukihito opened his closet and stepped inside. In less than a heartbeat, he found himself standing inside a dimensional pathway connecting Shingetsu Grand Shrine and the Heavenly Palace. Upon the path that was made of light Yukihito treaded, sensing everything about him change. First, his short hair deepened its color from brown to black and at the same time it grew rapidly in length. They stopped when they reached his waist, where a thin white ribbon tied them all the way to the nape of his neck, forming a long but tidy tail. His nose raised a little bit higher, his face thinner and brighter. The rough and worn texture of his blue denim jeans softened into the fabrics of the finest white silk. His simple T-shirt liquefied into light and became a wide-sleeved cloak streaked with silver and gold, which bore the Crests of the Sun and Moon on each side of its stiff collar. A belt, upon the side of which his katana hung, encircled his waist. A crown, plainly wrought in platinum but beautiful in its own ways gently embraced his forehead and delivered the finishing touch to his transformation.

Light flared brightly as he approached the end of the passageway. One step further brought him into a large study, where Yuusaku the Chief of the Holy Messengers stood. The man, whose face was quite grim and troubled, fell down on his knees as soon as he caught sight of Yukihito. "Welcome back, my Lord."

_It had _better_ be an emergency, Yuusaku,_ Izanagi thought.

* * *

Standing in the back garden of the Temple of the Dragon, Kannazuki Aoi let her mind flow through the sheathed Eye of Luna, which in turn spanned it across the whole structure. There were eight rooms spacing equally far apart from one another in a large circle, all of which faced the great spiral staircase that led all the way up to the Audience Hall. In the room that was due north, she sensed Tsubasa the First Head, shining bright like the namesake of his Elemental Blade. The room on his left was occupied by Girochi Miyako, who was still shaking in fear according to the weak and uneven pulses she was giving off. On the other hand, her brother Girochi Tokiya, who happened to be in the same room and probably was trying to calm his sister down, was the exact opposite. Although he was by no means as strong as the Second Head in term of powers, he should be much more difficult to deal with. One's powers seldom depicted one's personality wrong, and Tokiya's made Aoi think of a calm surface of the ocean, where fierce currents ran wildly beneath. Dangerous as an Orochi Head already, the man was even more so that Suikyou the Water Blade was in his hand. She wondered if she could arrange an accident soon...

Aoi chuckled softly to herself. Now that she had begun to speculate about dangerous people, she should not continue to ignore the person that had made her way to the garden and placed herself firmly behind Aoi's back without raising the softest noise. With every fiber of her existence brimming with power like that, the Orochi Eighth Head obviously harbored no good intentions.

Kagetsuki, still fully sheathed, spun in her hand before it became a whirling blue that lashed out at Saotome Makoto's throat. Aoi would not have stopped the blade from crushing the black-caped girl's cartilage had she not heard a simple statement being whispered from the Orochi's lips, _"I know what lies in the Tower of Agony."_ To anyone else, it might be meaningless. To Kannazuki Aoi's ears, those words were thunder.

"How do you learn of that name?" Aoi's voice grew colder than the heart of winter and sharper than a butcher's knife. "Speak, or I shall make you _howl." _

The young Follower only smiled wickedly in response before walls of pitch black shadows descended on all sides and formed a prism-shaped dimensional prison that cut Aoi off from the real world. With it in place, none outside could see the prison or hear a word that was spoken within its walls. At first glance, one would have thought that this place was perfect for the exchange of secrets, but Aoi knew better. She did not have to look at the shimmering Tasogare, which was floating menacingly above her head, or feel the tiniest surge of power within her Kagetsuki to know that she had been trapped within a Power Seal, the function of which was to suppress the magical abilities of any individual in its clutches. Saotome Makoto obviously meant to take the upper hand.

"Care to repeat what you just said, _Miya-sama?"_ the Follower said with a grin that was too insolent for her own good. Aoi was almost tempted to make the girl know her place.

"You acted as though I were unaware that you have used up all your power trying to Seal me, Eighth Head," she replied calmly. To her satisfaction, the grin on the brown-haired girl's face was wiped off in an instant. But of course, Aoi was not supposed to know that.

"I can kill you just as easily without." Saotome narrowed her eyes dangerously as she raised her hand overhead. Tasogare obediently lowered itself into her grasp, where it continued its menacing glow.

"Do as you please, then." Aoi withdrew the Eye of Luna, which surprised her captor so greatly that her eyes widened as far as they could and her mouth dropped open. After a minute, the girl closed it firmly.

"Mark my words, Himemiya. I shall be the one who will take your life," Saotome Makoto said coldly. "But whether it is now or later is entirely your choice. Answer my questions, and I shall spare it today." It turned out that Aoi had been correct in that the Orochi Eighth Head wanted something from her. And as long as she did not give it, the girl would make no attempt to kill her. Not that it would guarantee that Saotome would not resort to violence should Aoi refuse to satisfy her curiosity, though.

"Questions?" She gave a quiet laughter that by no means improved the lethal mood of her captor. "I suggest you take them to Susanou-sama. He explains things much better than I ever could." Despite having suffered a shock at hearing the name of the God of Storms at first, the Follower regained her composure. All that betrayed what she was feeling inside were her tight lips, her flushed cheeks, and her blazing emerald eyes. The mightiest of the Heads or not, she was still a very simple girl, Aoi thought in amusement.

"How do you know that?" demanded the Orochi.

"You have _seen_ the Tower, a secret to most Immortals." Aoi smiled. "That spelled his name." It had taken less than a minute for her to realize that only one Immortal in Heaven could have revealed to Saotome Makoto the crystal structure that mainly lay submerged beneath the surface of the Memories Sea. Izanagi or his trusted lapdog Yuusaku would have destroyed her as soon as they met her. Aside from those two and the Keeper of the Hall of Memories, none other had the authority to raise the Tower of Kannazuki from the depth. Besides, the girl had named it the Tower of Agony, which was not mentioned in any records. Aoi could still remember her meeting with that incredibly handsome man three thousand years ago, during which he secretly told her the name with which he had dubbed the crystal structure. He had looked quite saddened, too, before he Sealed her in with his own hands. "Am I wrong?"

"No," Saotome admitted gruffly.

"What have you learned from him?"

"All about Project Kannazuki," the other girl replied, frowning. No doubt she did not appreciate the fact that all of a sudden, Aoi had become the questioner.

"Then I cannot imagine that you have any other questions that need answers."

"Yes I do," the Follower declared. "Susanou never deigned to explain this!" At a snap of her fingers, the shadow walls of this prism-shaped dimensional prison began to shine. A second later, each and every one of them displayed an image that Aoi never thought she would see. Her heart quivered, and tears threatened to break out from her eyes. _So that is how we spent the last three thousand years, is it not?_ she thought.

"Tell me now, Himemiya! What are you planning to do with Himeko and with _us?"_ the Eighth Head demanded.

Giving the track-and-field athlete a quick assessing glance, Aoi wondered about what to do with her. It would be well within her power to kill the girl here and now... but doing it so in such a way that would not get her into trouble with the Dark God later proved to be much more of a problem. Besides, now that she had figured out what kind of person Saotome Makoto was, she was thinking something more along the lines of weaving the Orochi into her own designs. Aoi began to chuckle. She very well could.

* * *

When Kurusugawa Himeko woke up in the traditional Japanese room that Oogami-sensei had put her, the only source of illumination she could see came from the electric lamp on a nearby kotatsu table, on top of which sat a digital clock that read eight in the evening. In her right hand was a small present box gift-wrapped in silver foil, which she had held onto very tightly even during her sleep.

She trembled, but not from the coldness of the October night. The little box was what she had bought for her sweetheart's birthday present. It was what had made her, a klutz who tended to break things even before she could lay hands on them, labor for two months in a local restaurant just so she could gather the cash she needed. It was also the symbol of her love toward the person who had become more than just a part of her life. On the day following her birthday, she had lost it and thought that she would never see it again. Yet, now that it had returned to her, by means that she was completely ignorant of, she had not the slightest idea what she should do with it. She couldn't see why she should keep it now that her one and only significant other would never come back to her. The sapphire ring couldn't be more useless now that all the blue-haired princess felt toward her was hate.

Himeko pushed back the thick blanket and rose to her feet. When she lid the shoji door to her room open, she found to Priests standing guard outside. Upon seeing her, the two elderly men blinked in surprise and immediately moved in to block her way.

"What can we do for you, Kurusugawa-san?" one of the two gray-haired man asked warmly with pity shining in his eyes.

She gave a brief shake of her head. There was indeed something she desired, but it could not be granted by any person who inhabited Shingetsu Grand Shrine, she was sure. There was but one person in the world who could.

"Could it be that you want to go out?" the other Priest said and then went on to add very quickly at a nod from her. "I am sorry. We have the order from Oogami-sama that..."

Himeko decided to stop listening. There was no need to, for she already got the answer she sought. What they were trying to tell her politely was that they had to confine her in the Shrine under the command of the High Priest. What they were probably trying to do was protecting her from the Priestess of the Moon, who very nearly killed her yesterday. She truly appreciated their thoughts... but in that their interest and hers did not collide. What they sought was not what she sought. She didn't think they would ever come to understand that.

At a thought that sparked in Himeko's head, a surge of energy originating from the Sun Crest overwhelmed her whole self completely. Sweet sense of powers, so strong yet ever so gentle and kind... In her burn a flame as hot as the sun but for all its heat, it would not harm a blade of grass unless she ordered it to. And when she did, it would obey, Himeko knew. It seemed her grief had somehow awakened the latent powers of the Priestess of the Sun resting inside her. It was such a great irony how she had always wanted her powers so that she could protect the one she loved but when she actually regained them, there was no longer any need for her to have them. It was just like the sapphire ring.

Himeko guided the currents, manipulated them, and bent them to her will. For some reason, she felt as if she had been practicing it for years although this was the first time she could reach out and grasp her powers without them slipping off. A quick movement of her fingers here, a twist of her wrist there produced a blinding flare of golden light that froze the movements of the Priests. Their mouths were still hanging in the effort of persuading her to stay, hands moving about to give necessary emphasis. Another time, it would have been amusing. Another time, she would have laughed at seeing them so. Right now, she could not care less.

Himeko walked off the wooden floor to the Grand Shrine's front yard. It was so strange. The ground should have felt rough for all the soils it was paved with. The air should have ignored Himeko's flimsy yukata and chilled her to the bone. Only that they didn't. Come to think of it, she hadn't felt much from her body ever since she woke, either. It was as though her skin had grown numb, her every nerve disabled. She might as well be made entirely of rocks. She smiled – or she thought she did, her lips didn't seem to be moving anyway – as she continued to walk toward the Torii Archway. It was for the better, Himeko guessed. This way, she wouldn't have to go through much pain when Chikane-chan laid her to rest... forever.

* * *

As he glided along the hallways of the Heavenly Palace, Izanagi the Lord of Izumo could not but feel anger simmering in his heart. Every servant who caught sight of him either took a turn at their nearest junction or pressed their backs as hard as possible to the walls and began to study the floor as though there were words of wisdoms on the carpets. His face, dead serious as it was, must be frightening them witless. Of course, the Ruler of Heaven rarely came to this area. Every time he did, his mood was never good. As a result, catastrophe ensued. Everyone knew that.

"Fool!" he muttered. The glance he threw over his shoulder left no doubt whom he aimed the acid comment at. It hit the Chief Messenger, who had been tailing him like his own shadow ever since his return to the Heavenly Palace, so hard that the man was nearly knocked off his feet.

"My Lord, it is not my fault that the Chamber of the Assembly asked for an audience with you," declared Yuusaku defensively with his back stiffened even as he walked.

"Then whose?" Izanagi growled threateningly. "Had _you_ not spilled the secret about the defection of the Priestess, _they_ would be sleeping right now."

"I didn't have a choice, Lord!" the other man protested in exasperation. "I either told them what they wanted or had the information dragged out of my head." His face darkened as he thought, signifying that whatever the Assembly had told him during the questioning, it had not been pleasant. Not that a meeting with those senile bastards had ever been pleasant. Even the Holy Messengers, notoriously obnoxious to the citizens of Izumo as they were, squealed like a little girl under the attention of the Celestial Assembly. Yuusaku, Chief or no Chief, could only fare worse.

"You could have lied," Izanagi muttered. Yet, he knew that those words were wrong even before they left his lips.

"You have forgotten how the Sanctum Core works, haven't you?" The white-clad man heaved a deep sigh.

Indeed, the power of the Sanctum Core, also named the Grand Hall of the Sky, had completely slipped his mind up until now. The Core was a place of great importance, for it functioned as a Hall in which the full Chamber of the Celestial Assembly convened every single day and decided the businesses of the Immortals' World. Not just that, through the Mirror of Life in the Tower of Kannazuki, the Assembly also took on the task of determining where a mortal's soul would go when they stood at the crossroads of destiny, thus steering the wheel for the Cycle of Death and Rebirth.

It was a prickly business, the Assembly serving as the political center of Heaven. They were indispensable if Izanagi wanted to be free of all the responsibility and mountains of paperwork, and they knew it. Great powers were in their hands, theirs to wield as they deemed necessary. In other words, corruption was but a step away. Although he could remove any, or all, of them from office if he caught them doing something that they should not have, it was actually more trouble than it was worth, for he had to conduct full and formal investigations in accordance with universal laws. Besides, busy as he was, he did not really have time to check on every single one of them. To solve such a dilemma, he imposed one little restriction upon the structure of the Core, one that connected the minds of all the Assembly members together in one great telepathy network.

In so doing, he at the same time enabled quicker communication and established a system of checks on each and every one of his employees. Since he had practically opened the mind of one Assembly member to all others in the Core, he had indirectly told them that they had better think of nothing in there _except_ the businesses of the Heavenly World. And of course, should one try anything funny with his position, the rest of them would realize it immediately and put him in his proper place. Also, with the telepathy network in effect, the Assembly also became the judiciary body of Izumo. The system made it possible for them to delve into the mind of the people who were brought to the Core, extract the pristine truth, and deliver fair judgments for all. _"In the Sanctum Core, none shall lie,"_ so was it written, so was it made.

In the beginning, Izanagi had thought it clever... until the bastards of the Assembly requested him to extend the system so it would work on him as well. They had backed their request with the excuse that should the Ruler of Heaven be excluded from the effect of the Network, there was no difference from him standing above the law, which, as they claimed, was unacceptable in a democratic society like Izumo. Having nothing to say in response to that, he reluctantly and grudgingly acceded to their request. He had regretted ever since. He did even more so now that they had used the system that he himself designed to drag classified information out of Yuusaku, his trusted aide, and requested an audience with him.

After a few minutes, Izanagi arrived in front of a great vaulting arch blocked by a pair of steel doors decorated with the shield and sword sigil of the Celestial Assembly. Upon turning his head, he saw the Chief Messenger standing a few feet away, faced painted with apprehension, eyes filled with the fervent hope that Izanagi would not make him enter the Core again. He sighed. Despite being fiercely loyal, Yuusaku did not have much backbone. Izanagi sometimes wished that the man did so that he could make himself more useful.

"How is Tsukiyomi?" he asked.

"Still sulking in her room, I would imagine, my Lord," the younger man replied with a bow. "So far, she had made no move to return to Onogoro and seek her daughters."

"Good," Izanagi muttered. With the silver-haired girl throwing her tantrums and demanding to know how her daughters were faring in the Human World, he had had no other choice but to threaten her with Amaterasu's life again before she decided to be quiet and do what he told her to. No other alternatives could persuade the Goddess of the Moon to stay in the Heavenly Palace.

"You have my leave to return to your office," he said.

"I... shall wait here for you, Lord," the Chief Messenger announced.

"Suit yourself," he said before he turned, pushed open the two great steel doors, and walked in.

As soon as he passed through the vaulting arch and stopped in the dead center of a great square, he found himself surrounded from all sides by the full chamber of the Celestial Assembly, five hundred Gods and Goddesses, all clad in snowy cloaks with deep hoods, seated in rows of seats that cascaded downward to form the shape of a bowl. Above them was a great dome beneath the vaulted surface of which hung a myriad of glowing orbs of light.

Izanagi grimaced. _Devious bastards,_ was the first thought that popped in his head every time he entered the Grand Hall of the Sky. Since he was not responsible for the design of the Core, he had no chance to know what it looked like _inside_ before the construction was complete. To his shock, the rows of seat in the Core was arranged in such a way that no matter who stood before the Assembly, he would be subjected to five hundred pairs of eyes from all directions at all times. He should never be able to find himself unwatched for even a split second. Every movement he made would be carefully filed away in those heads. Every wrong choice of word would be used against him as soon as uttered. Izanagi did not believe they even needed the mind-reading system to try the criminals. Should they keep sending their captives such unrelenting gazes, most would be more than willing to dig out the tiniest scrap of information that they never knew they remembered.

On one hand, Izanagi would have loved so watch some unsuspecting soul squirm under the Assembly's attention. On the other, he had no wish to be that unsuspecting soul. The Assembly had gained too much power for their own good. It was high time Izanagi took some back.

"Praises be to your holy name, O August Lord of Heaven," spoken the mouths of five hundred Immortals who bowed down at Izanagi from where they stood. He almost gnashed his teeth in anger. There was no respect in those calculating eyes that shone like headlights beneath the deep hoods. They definitely had gained too much power and lost an equal amount of common sense.

A nod of Izanagi's head seated the chamber while he settled down his own armchair, brought all the way from his study beforehand. He doubted he could make the Assembly offer him anything to sit on short of issuing a decree, doing which would show those bastards weakness. He did not intend to any time soon, if ever.

"You wished for an audience. I have granted you one," Izanagi said briskly. "Make it quick."

"Izanagi-sama." An old man, whose white eyebrows and beard covered a good part of his face, stood up from the lowest row. "We have heard from Chief Yuusaku of the Messengers that the Priestess of the Moon had defected to the Orochi's side, so we wish to hear your plan in such impending crisis." In a way, this very row held more powers than the rest combined, for it seated the Three Arbiters, who belonged to the highest of the echelons, who moderated every meeting in this Hall, who in other words had authority over the rest. And the man who had just spoken was the most prominent, also eldest of the Three, Ame no Minaka.

"There is none, Arbiter," he answered. "No crisis, so no plan." His response, surely unanticipated, produced a great deal of gasps from all the rows, from Gods and Goddesses shocked to the base of their foundation. Ame no Minaka, interestingly enough, said nothing while peering at Izanagi in evident surprise and curiosity. _Like a cat would a mouse,_ he noted absently. The Arbiter seemed to think very highly of himself.

It was no secret to Izanagi that despite his restriction on the Core, the entire Assembly was growing more and more ambitious. They had but begun to realize that he had left much of Izumo in their jurisdiction, which in turn implied that perhaps they could manage the Holy City without the Maker of the World. It would not surprise him, really, to wake up one day and find his head cut off from his body and Ame no Minaka crowned absolute ruler in his stead. It was not like they did not want to anyway. They simply did not have the necessary courage. As long as his two sons, Susanou and Kagutsuchi, kept a tight watch on the Armies of Heaven, to which they were High Commanders, the Celestial Assembly would be less than eager to plan a coup d'état. Also, even though the Assembly held sway over the Mirror of Life, the one weapon capable of bringing Izanagi down, they could not do nothing beyond deciding whether a mortal's soul would go after death. He had been quite wise in making sure that those senile men and women could not wield the power of First Supreme any more than necessary, if he might say so himself.

Still, Izanagi could not allow such threat to thrive any longer. He needed to cut off the head of the snake before it could bare it fangs and bite him. To make that happen, he had to eliminate all of the Arbiters, of course. The only question was how. A power higher than his was what had appointed those three. He must not upset that power by sentencing the Arbiters to death without good cause. He bet that if he looked hard enough, he would find one, though.

The man to Ame no Minaka's immediate right stood up and spoke, "Pardon, Lord, but did I hear it correctly from you that there was no crisis? I believe my Lord is well aware of what, or who, awaits Kannazuki Aoi in the Orochi's midst." Takami no Mikoto, another Arbiter and senile old man just like his senior officer, added, his wry voice bordering on insolence. He adored Ame no Minaka so much that he had to get an ego as large as the Heavenly Palace, too. _Odious little man,_ Izanagi thought.

"I am, Arbiter," he replied dully. "So?"

"Then, my Lord, have you no concern toward what Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne wants to do with her?" the last of the Arbiters chimed in. Kami no Mikoto, the only female officer in the Three, was the only one who made herself look like a woman in her mid twenties. Despite the fact that her appearance did please the eye, she would look quite plain beside Tsukiyomi. Not that the woman acknowledged the fact, though. With the way she walked across Heaven with her head held high and her nose pointing skyward, she seemed to believe that she was the most beautiful woman in the Three Worlds. Izanagi sometimes found himself wondering how many times a day that Kami no Mikoto looked into her mirror and assured herself that her beauty was unsurpassed.

"No." Izanagi's curt answer upset the narcissist of a woman to the point that she eyed him openly askance. No other Immortal outside the Core ever dared do that. He started to think about what he would do to her once he had removed her from office.

_If she knows what I am thinking of right now, she would soil herself,_ he mused. It was only then did it occur to him that the Assembly had not tried to break through the mental barrier that he had placed on his mind. _Maybe they do not dare break the law yet,_ he thought. After all, he had specified before hand that the Assembly were only allowed to forcibly access someone's mind in a formal trial.

"Izanagi-sama," Ame no Minaka said. "I cannot comprehend your indifference. We all know how dangerous it is once Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne achieves her goal, yes?"

The man's words brought vehement nods and fierce stare, all of which were directed at Izanagi in a heated fashion. Of course it was dangerous. Of course it was disturbing that the fool Sinner Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne now possessed the very key that would threaten the safety of Heaven. Yet, if the Assembly expected him to acknowledge that fact, they were even bigger fools.

"She will not, Arbiters." Some from the upper rows of the Assembly shook their heads. Some patted their foreheads as though tired from dealing with a madman. The rest seemed torn between wanting to keep quiet and shouting _"Liar"_ at the top of their lungs.

"And the reason is...?" Kami no Mikoto came very close to sneering at Izanagi's face. Soon, the woman was going to beg Izanagi for a quick death before he was done with her. As would the other two of the Arbiters, of course. Once the head honchos were gone, he would pluck at the rudderless Assembly as he would weeds!

"You need not know." Izanagi had had enough with this nonsense panicking. He rose to his feet and delivered his last words in a tone that assured them he was going to kill anyone who said otherwise, "Good night to you all." Then he swept out of the Sanctum Core, undoubtedly leaving behind a furious Assembly. If they lost their sleep tonight as a result, all the better, he decided.

"Izanagi-sama..." began Yuusaku, who fell in place behind Izanagi as soon as he emerged from the vaulted archway. An out-flung hand from him stopped the younger man short.

"Get me that woman spy of yours, Yuusaku," Izanagi commanded without slowing down.

"Woman spy...?" Yuusaku gave Izanagi a baffled look before he understood the person whom his liege lord was referring to. There was only one woman whom the Holy Messengers employed, of course.

"Lord, you wish to see her in person?" Yuusaku sounded scandalized at the very idea.

"Correct."

"But for what, my Lord?"

"Verifying the true intention of Kannazuki Aoi."

There was no counter plan because there was no crisis. There was no crisis because the one that was being manipulated was Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne herself. Yet, Izanagi had to make sure that the fool Priestess of the Moon was doing what he thought she was. It was highly unlikely that he was going to have some peaceful sleep after he did, though.

* * *

Ame no Minaka was frowning thoughtfully at the empty chair left on the floor of the Grand Hall of the Sky when his second officer, Takami no Mikoto voiced his thoughts for all of the Assembly to hear, _"Izanagi is out of his mind. We cannot possibly let such an egomaniac rule over Heaven and ruin everything we have worked so hard for."_

Heads nodded fiercely. Approving thoughts echoed noisily in Ame no Minaka's head. He sighed. This topic had been brought to the Assembly's attention more than enough already. Every time they did, they would decide unanimously that they must not take actions against the Lord of Izumo. The fear of his armies was so great that a mention of the First and Second Imperial Battalions never failed to stifle any Immortal who wished to dethrone the Father of All. Yet, it _was_ the past. The situation was no longer the same.

_"That, ladies and gentlemen, brings us to the most important item on our agenda today,"_ Ame no Minaka intoned, thus quelling the ruckus. _"The Regent of the Underworld herself had delivered us the newest report on the plan. And here is the expert who will present it to us," _as if on cue, the large pair of doors swung open to admit a lean, tall man who was claimed to be the most handsome man in the Three Worlds, _"Susanou no Mikoto, the God of Storms."_

Smiles, oh sweet and treacherous smiles, flashed on every face there was in the Sanctum Core. And for the first time in his long life, Ame no Minaka was pleased at such reaction. Perhaps the Heaven Throne was not that far away from his reach after all.

* * *

Standing inside the dimensional prison she herself constructed, Saotome Makoto was so stunned by the revelation from the Priestess of the Moon that she failed to hear what the blue-haired girl said afterwards.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"I asked if there was any other question you wished to ask me, Saotome Makoto," Kannazuki Aoi said in a patient voice and with a satisfied smile.

"No," Makoto responded weakly. "I'll... release you."

"How kind," commented the Priestess, who was walking toward one of the dark walls. "But that would be unnecessary. I can let myself out."

"Wait!" Makoto shouted. "Don't touch it, you'll die!"

The blue-haired girl stopped an inch in front of the dimensional wall, turned her head toward Makoto, and smiled.

"I shall let you in on a secret, Eighth Head," Aoi said in a very cool voice. "There is another purpose for which the Eyes of Heaven were forged. And that... is the complete annihilation of the Elemental Blades."

Kagetsuki the Eye of Luna, completely unsheathed, blazed silver in her hand. Space literally rippled, and the entire prism-shaped dimensional prison that Makoto had constructed to confine the other girl shattered into pieces. A flash of light that followed immediately brought them back to the garden of the Orochi lair.

"It couldn't be!" Makoto gaped at the Priestess of the Moon, who winked at her and walked away in a fit of mirthless laughter. _It couldn't be! _she thought. It bloody well could, Kannazuki Aoi had just demonstrated that. For all her confidence that she had successfully sealed Kagetsuki as well as the power of the blue-haired girl, she was actually mistaken. As it turned out, the Power Seal that she had used every ounce of her own power to exerted as much influence on the Eye of Heaven and its master as a storm would a boulder of rock. Goosebumps rose all over her skin. It only occurred to her now that Kannazuki Aoi could have destroyed her any time during their conversation.

Makoto jumped up and down on her terror and stuffed it back into the furthest corner of her mind. _Complete annihilation of the Elemental Blades?_ She only wondered how. Something tugged at her memory. Before the Eye of Luna obstructed her field of vision with its silver light, Makoto had seen something taking place upon the sword. _The blade!_ Makoto gasped. _The blade of __Kagetsuki_ She finally understood the true meaning of what the Priestess of the Moon had said. She finally understood what the true power of the Eyes of Heaven actually was. Stark terror ravaged her once more.

* * *

As she gazed into the Vision Sphere she made, Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne saw Himemiya Chikane, Kannazuki Aoi she called herself now, vanished into the darkness beyond the Temple of the Dragons' doors while Saotome Makoto, back stiff and mouth hanging open, was still standing like a stone post in her shock. Rinne chuckled. She was willing to wager that the girl had just realized how close to death she had been in a dimensional prison made with her own hands and in a Power Seal that was supposed to protect her from all threats.

Rinne gave her lips a thoughtful tap afterwards. _So, that was what the Priestess was planning?_ she thought. _Clever, clever indeed._ She had to give the blue-haired girl a mental bow. She doubted she herself would have noticed had she not known _everything_ beforehand. The best she could have made out from Aoi's seemingly honest story should be a _"something is wrong"_ response in her head. Maybe not even that. _I think I like her,_ she mused.

Of course she would like the Priestess of the Moon. Aoi was the sharpest person she had ever seen after all. The girl had noticed her presence when none other, including Saotome Makoto the Eighth Head, did. In addition, Aoi had nerves made from steel the way she _thought_ she could take advantage of the Orochi to achieve her own goals. Gifted with such courage, ingenuity, the willingness to take on incredible risks, and complete disregards for good and evil, she could have been mistaken for Rinne's twin. Well, almost, since Rinne was the better schemer between them, and that she knew all about Aoi's intentions when the girl had not even a clue what Rinne was aiming at. In this contest of strength, the Priestess of the Moon would lose, her wish would never be granted, her heart would be broken, and her soul would be sent back to the Cycle of Death and Rebirth. Only this time, none would need her to return to the human world as a Priestess ever again.

Rinne opened a Dimensional Portal right in the Audience Chamber. It was time to meet with the Regent of the Underworld as the message had instructed her to. A strange feeling of happiness welled in her so quickly she had to try her best not to dance her way to the silvery surface. Finally, she could see him once more. _Akira_, she thought fondly.

* * *

Sitting with her back against the oak that towered over the Garden of the Roses, Kurusugawa idly turned the little present box in her hands while fixing her eyes at the hidden entrance to the place she and her sweetheart had enjoyed their boxed lunches every school day. A normal person could never guess what she was doing there in such late hour, when the entire Academy was but deserted. No mere mortal, on the same note, could sense the raging storm of powers inside her soul. She was calling out to her blue-haired princess, a Priestess reaching for her beloved counterpart and the other half of her existence. She was sending out signals that the Priestess of the Moon should never be able to miss, wherever she was in this whole wide world. If all went well, her sweetheart would come. If all went as Himeko expected them to, she would be dead before the earliest light of dawn reached the earth.

So she sat there and waited. Time passed slowly while agony ate at her from inside out. It hurt so much just to make herself live. It pained her greatly just to make her body breath in the air of a world that held no colors in her eyes. Despite the fact that every particle of her body was begging her to conclude this with her own hands, she wouldn't. It wasn't that she couldn't stand the pain of ending her own life, though. It was only because she wanted to meet with Chikane-chan so that she could see the blue-haired princess's face one last time even if the price she had to pay afterward was death. _It should be okay, shouldn't it?_ she thought. At least to Himeko, dying by the hand of the one she loved most was a blessing. It couldn't be any truer when both parties desired it more than anything else in the world.

Himeko's heart leapt in joy when she heard a rustling sound from the entrance of the Garden of the Roses. _Chikane-chan,_ she thought, _she's here!_ Yet, her hope quickly deflated as she realized who had just entered. It was a girl with short brown hair framing a face many would call pretty, a toned frame of a track-and-field athlete, and a pair of emerald eyes that shone brightly in the moonlight. The newcomer, clad in a thick jacket and a pair of worn-out jeans, was someone who Himeko thought didn't want anything to do with her ever again. She was Saotome Makoto, a girl who had been in her class and shared her room during the last year.

"Hey, Himeko," said her former roommate, who proceeded to sit down next to her with a gentle smile on her lips. It was as though nothing had happened between them. It wasn't as thought she no longer minded the fact that had it not been for Himeko's selfish wishes, her dream would have never been crushed. Somehow, seeing the brown-haired girl being so cheerful hurt Himeko even more.

"Mako-chan..." she began but found her voice being smothered by something in her throat a second later.

"Hmm?" the other girl prompted, the smile unwavering on her face.

"Aren't you angry with me?"

"If I am, would I be here, talking to you?" Mako-chan laughed. "Besides, it is kinda silly, blaming you for something that isn't your fault." She raked her hand through the golden tresses of Himeko's hair. The quick and casual response shocked her so much that she fell silent for a few minutes before she found her voice again. Meanwhile, the track-and-field athlete simply looked at her and smiled in a very fond way. She used to do that when they talked in their room.

"How are you lately, Mako-chan?" Himeko inquired, deciding to drop the previous topic. She was well aware that her classmate and best friend didn't exactly like to compete for the right to bear the blame, especially after she had decided that it was not Himeko's fault. "Has your leg gotten better?"

"I'm as healthy as I can be." Her friend flexed her right arm to demonstrate how well she was. "As for my leg, well, I don't see any difficulty in walking."

"I'm sorry I didn't come visit you in the hospital," Himeko said apologetically.

"No need for apologies," the brown-haired girl declared in a very gentle voice. "If I were you, I wouldn't want to go see me either." She laughed at that.

"No, it's not like that. I..." Himeko insisted. "I did go there a few times... but I didn't have the courage to come to your room. I'm sorry."

"I said apologies are not needed, silly." Her best friend chuckled and knuckled her softly on her cheek. "I'm okay now, that's what matters, right?" As though she had figured out that Himeko was about to made her protest, she added quickly, "But enough of this talks about me already. How about you?" The slightly exasperated glance she gave Himeko afterwards drove home the fact that anything that concerned her injuries was now officially off-limit. Himeko swallowed the rest of what she had wanted to say.

"Well, I'm fine, health-wise." That was not a lie. Despite the fact that depression, agony, and sadness were all that she was feeling, her body couldn't have been any healthier with the power of the Priestess of the Sun brimming like that.

"That's no excuse for you to dress so little in this freezing weather" Mako-chan plucked at Himeko's thin yukata with her fingers, disapproval plain on her face. Her emerald eyes suddenly locked onto Himeko's amethyst. "Why are you here anyway?" She frowned. "I'm not aware that there is school this late into the night."

Himeko didn't know how to respond. Even though the track-and-field athlete was her best friend, she didn't think that revealing to her that she had come here to seek death was such a good idea. The other girl would surely box her ears and drag her back to Shingetsu Grand Shrine by force. She shivered. She hoped it wouldn't have to come to that. She would hate to use her own powers against her former roommate.

After a few minutes that they spent in dead silence, the brown-haired girl decided to drop the question – maybe she had realized that Himeko was struggling desperately to find an answer but not quite succeeding – and spoke up instead, "I came to Shingetsu earlier." Himeko's eyebrows rose in surprise.

"Why?" she asked.

"I was out looking for you." Her best friend made it sound the most obvious thing in the world. "It was around eight thirty when I got there. To my surprise, I found a bunch of panicking Priests instead of my cuddly roommate." The other girl giggled softly, and she colored in spite of herself. Since the track-and-field athlete practiced in the evening once in a blue moon, it was very late into the night when she returned to the room they shared. After that, the girl would take a bath before she climbed onto Himeko's mattress instead of her own, which was on the upper level of the double-decked bed. And whenever that happened, she found absolutely no rest afterwards. It wasn't as though she had problems with sleeping next to her best friend. It was just that the latter tended to hold onto her very tightly when she slept. Himeko asked the track-and-field athlete once why she didn't sleep on her own mattress. Her roommate had replied in a half-joking, half-serious, voice that on the upper level, there was no pillow that was as cuddly and smelled as good. Blushing, Himeko had chosen to believe that Mako-chan had been too tired to climb up the ladder after she returned.

"They were turning up every stone for you," she added afterwards.

"I... see," Himeko murmured noncommittally.

"Oogami-sensei told me everything, you know," the track-and-field athlete said suddenly, her voice strangely quiet and serious. "About you, Himemiya, the Priestesses and Orochi business, and also what happened yesterday..."

"Did he... now?" She sensed her heart ache. She felt her face burn in shame for having kept her relationship between herself and the blue-haired princess from her best friend.

"It hurts, doesn't it?" Mako-chan put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"No, it doesn't," she lied. In any event, she should get the brown-haired girl out of this place. The Priestess of the Moon might arrive anytime... and she didn't want her former roommate to get involved in the mess that she had created. She would not stand to see any other person that she held dear being hurt for her sake again.

"You can't fool anyone, Himeko, especially me," said Mako-chan, whose hand rose to place tenderly against Himeko's cheek. "I know how much Miya-sama means to you." The girl then pulled Himeko into her warm embrace. "Don't you go holding out on me now. Cry if you want. I won't laugh, I promise."

Those words, overflowed with kindness and affection, opened the floodgate in Himeko's heart. Immediately, tears broke out from her eyes as she wept openly on her best friend's shoulder. Still, the harder she wept, the more she felt the other girl's hand stroking her back soothingly, the more her sorrow seemed to swell. "I love Chikane-chan... I love her so much... Mako-chan... But... she doesn't care about me anymore..." She didn't think she could stop crying once she had started.

* * *

"Poor Himeko," said Saotome Makoto, who was brushing her secret crush's golden hair gently with one hand and holding her tightly with the other. "What could you possibly have done to deserve this?" Nothing, as far as she was concerned. The only person who was at fault was Kannazuki Aoi, who had inflicted so much pain and heartbreak upon the person who loved her more than anything in the world.

The golden-haired girl couldn't say anything beyond some unintelligible words which were muffled by her own sobbing. Makoto chew desperately on her underlip. With the one she loved crying her heart and eyes out within her embrace, she had to consume every ounce of her strength to keep in her own tears. She repeatedly told herself that she had to be strong, for she came here to make sure that Himeko would be safe and sound until the end of the world. She barely succeeded.

"I have always known," Makoto said after clearing her throat. "About you and Himemiya, I mean. You don't have to look so surprised. I was aware that you were nuts about her even before Oogami-sensei told me."

"H... how?" The golden-haired girl gazed upward at Makoto, her amethyst eyes shining with moisture, her pretty face soaked with tears. Butterflies trounced Makoto's stomach at the sight. _Stop thinking how beautiful she is, idiot! _she berated herself harshly.

"It's hardly a secret." She forced herself to smile while trying to calm her racing heart. "Do you think me too dimwitted to connect the dots when you and Himemiya always vanished off _together_ during lunch breaks, may I remind you, _every single time_? Once, I followed you and found out about this place." Her voice grew gentle as she let her hand stroke the other girl's head. Gradually, she began to be very conscious of the soft, fragrant body in her arms. Eventually, she began to feel her former roommate's heart beating painfully against her chest. She suddenly experienced a great urge to kiss away the tears on the face of the Priestess of the Sun. Every fiber of her existence was beseeching her to claim those beautiful cherry blossom lips. She refused to listen. She did not come here for that. "The Garden of the Roses holds a lot of memory between you two, doesn't it? I figured that I would find you here when the Priests said you've run off somewhere."

"I'm sorry I kept it from you," the Priestess of the Sun murmured in an apologetic and tattered voice.

"Never mind that, I just want to know something." Makoto pushed Himeko away as gently as she had pulled her in. Her emerald eyes locked with the latter's amethyst ones. "Why are you out here alone while the Orochi and Himemiya are dead set on taking your life?"

The golden-haired girl refused to answer and dropped her gaze. Her hands tightened on Makoto's sleeves while her whole body trembled. More sobbing sounds came from her delicate mouth.

"You've come to die, haven't you?" A reluctant nod, which was barely noticeable, from her former roommate dragged a frustrated sigh from Makoto's mouth. "Something is wrong with that head of yours!" she chided. "You are the Priestess of the Sun! You die, and the world dies with you. Don't you have any qualm about seeing everybody you know being sent to the afterlife?"

"Of course I do!" Himeko protested.

"Then why are you seeking death when you should be fighting your hardest for them?"

"I know that, but..."

"But...?"

"But if I want to save them, I'll have to kill Chikane-chan." Himeko buried her face in her hands and wept harder than ever._ "I can't do it! I won't do it! I won't!"_

"Even if _my_****life is at stake?" Makoto pressed, slightly irritated. No use trying to bring up how the renegade Priestess of the Moon had mistreated the person whom she was supposed to protect. The latter loved the former too deeply to even care about that. The fact that the betrayed Priestess of the Sun still called Himemiya Chikane's name with such a caress in her voice was the undeniable proof. "You still won't lay a hand on her?"

"I'm sorry, Mako-chan." Himeko's reluctant answer brought a grimace to Makoto's face, which she immediately smoothed over. It wasn't pleasant at all knowing who was on the top of Himeko's beloved list. It hurt even more to realize once again that neither Makoto's position nor that of the entire humanity in her former roommate's heart came close. But well, things would change... soon enough, she thought. If all went well, they would change.

"You love her very much, that I understand, but she's already dead, Himeko," she said slowly. "The Himemiya Chikane you know is gone."

"She's not!" The other girl's grip on her forearms tightened. She winced. "Chikane-chan is still alive! I know she is, Mako-chan!" It was almost unbelievable hearing such certainty in the voice of someone who had witnessed the cruelty of the Priestess of the Moon firsthand. There was no doubt that Himeko believed fiercely every word she said. Makoto could only wonder where her former roommate got her unwavering confidence. She wondered, too, how she could chip at it. It would do neither of them any good if the Priestess of the Sun's faith remained unchanged.

"Fine. If you say she is, she is," Makoto said while gazing intently into the other girl's eyes to drive the words home. "But she won't be for much longer. _That_ I can assure you."

"What are you saying, Mako-chan?" The Priestess of the Sun blinked at her in shock. Her weeping actually ceased. Makoto smiled inwardly in satisfaction. Now that she had the attention of the girl she loved, she could deliver the decisive blow to steer the course of the latter's actions on the path that she herself desired.

"Of course you didn't know," she replied in a grim but clear voice. "Well, a piece of news arrived at the Grand Shrine shortly after you left. The Priestess of the Moon had joined forces with the Orochi, Himeko."

"It's impossible!" The golden-haired girl couldn't seem to close her own mouth. Her amethyst eyes were now two large teacups on her beautiful, shock-ridden face.

"I don't think she means to let you kill her again. Maybe that's why she went to the dark side."

"She doesn't have to," the Sun Priestess sobbed bitterly. "My life is always hers to take."

"You don't get it," Makoto muttered while trying to keep her irritation in check. She hoped it didn't show in her tight voice. "Let's just imagine that in the near future, the Orochi win the battle, thanks to our friend the Priestess. The world is enslaved. Any who resists – you, me, the Priests – dead before they can blink. What is going to happen then? What do you think the Dark God is going to do to a Priestess once he has exhausted her use?"

Himeko stared speechlessly at her as sweat coming out of every pore of her skin. Then she started to tremble. Makoto's words were sinking in, just like she wanted them to. She hadn't wanted to lie to her sweetheart – small chance the Dark God would return the Moon Priestess to the Cycle of Death and Rebirth, due to the obvious reasons the blue-haired girl had stated in the audience – but when the life of the one she loved was at stakes, she hardly could afford not to say a few untrue words.

"You've begun to see, right?" Makoto continued. "No matter what Himemiya could do for the Orochi, she's still a traitor, Priestess or no Priestess. No one wants a traitor in their midst, Himeko. When everything is over, they are going to kill her for sure. I have to say that seeing how brutal the Orochi have been lately, it's highly doubtful they are going to be gentle doing that."

"Chikane-chan... is going to..." horror dawned on Himeko's face in the most satisfactory manner. Makoto wanted to chuckle aloud. "...die?"

"Exactly." Makoto nodded, feeling triumph bubbling beneath her calm yet sorrowful façade. "You would be doing her a _favor_ by killing her, I think. Besides, you can save the world in the process, can't you?" she added as if an afterthought. An additional weight on the already wavering balance ought to tip it over, no doubt.

The golden-haired girl sat there for several minutes and stared blankly at the fence, which was covered by a multitude of roses of various colors. Even without invading her secret crush's mind, she could still see the idea, which she successfully implanted without rousing any suspicious toward herself, being mulled over and over again in the Sun Priestess's head. She almost cried out in victory after another few minutes had passed, when she saw determination lighting up her former roommate's amethyst eyes. _Success,_ she thought. Between seeing Himemiya Chikane die by slow torture and giving her a merciful death, there was little doubt which path Himeko was going to choose.

The Priestess of the Moon rose to her feet and moved toward the entrance.

"Where are you going?" Makoto asked in a very casual tone.

"Back to the Grand Shrine, Mako-chan," The golden-haired girl answered while using her wide yukata sleeves to dab at her face. When she was done, no dried trails of tears were left on a face that was set with conviction.

"What for?"

"To save my world." With that, the golden-haired girl left the Garden of the Roses.

_Be strong, Himeko,_ Makoto thought as she too, slowly stood up. _I shall be there when you drive your sword through Himemiya's body. I shall be there to offer you my shoulder to weep on afterwards. In time, your love for her shall wane, your pain lessen and vanish. Then, you are going to be mine._

Suddenly, something in the other girl's words struck her like a hammer across her chest She could feel the blood draining off her face. _By _"my world"_, she didn't mean _that_, did she_? Makoto sincerely hoped not.

* * *

With his hands clasped behind his back, Izanagi the Ruler of Heaven silently studied the majestic silver moon on high. The leaves of the trees surrounding his secluded spot to the west of Shingetsu Grand Shrine rustled in the night breezes. Such relaxing sound, such refreshing air, and such incredible scenery... Izanagi would have smiled in contentment and in awe of the wonder of nature he himself had created, had there not been someone truly offensive who just walked out from a Dimensional Portal a few feet behind him. He turned his head and looked. It was a woman in a green dress, one who loved to smile but for all the world, she could do little more than baring her teeth. _Such revolting smile, such filth..._ he thought in abhorrence.

"Hibiki Shizuku, correct?" he said, his voice a dangerous whisper. According to Yuusaku's personnel profile of the Orochi woman, Hibiki liked people to call her Nekoko. She was in for a nasty surprise if she thought Izanagi was going to do that. After all, she was a Follower of Yamata no Orochi, the hideous sinner Izanagi would not mind tearing limb from limb as many times as he could.

"Where's Yuusaku?" the Follower demanded, her words painted with insolence.

"I shall take his place today," Izanagi replied with his back still facing the woman. He surely was not going to sully himself by talking face to face with someone he considered worse than pond scum. Just being here already made him want to take a long bath.

"Why did you call me out, then?"

"You are not here to question me, Orochi." Izanagi snapped, his voice cold enough to do an iceberg proud. "Be quiet and only speak when you are asked!"

"How dare you..." Hibiki Shizuku began heatedly but shut up when she was struck by his icy sidelong glance. Her knees immediately gave way and knelt her on the ground, where she trembled as though naked in the winter's heart. _Weakling, _he decided. He had not even used his power on her yet.

"I... I understand, Lord," the woman managed weakly between her attempts to desperately gasp for breath. Had she had the gall to say otherwise, Izanagi would have made her wish she had never been born.

"Good." He nodded, slightly pleased at the crippling mental effect that he had wrought on the vile Orochi Follower. "Now tell me whatever the Priestess of the Moon had told the lot of you."

"I wasn't there when the... Dark God," she no doubt had meant to say "Lord", Izanagi knew, "met with her." She noticed his hard stare and flinched as if struck. "But I have the record of the whole audience! Yamata no Orochi gave it to all of us to hear." She held up her right palm, from which a glowing sphere emerged. She looked as though she wanted to move toward him on her knees and hand it over with both hands. Not that he intended to let her went an inch closer to him unless out of absolute necessity, of course.

At a snap of his fingers, the voice record flew toward him and stopped above his outstretched hand. As his mind delved into the glowing sphere, he heard everything that was spoken in the so-called audience and saw all that had happened. When his consciousness returned to him, a satisfied smile was already forming on his stone-cold face. Just as he had suspected, the Priestess had told the Orochi a tale that was the same as what the High Priest had told him and his little brother, word for word. Why, they could have been spoken from the same mouth! _Clever, clever indeed,_ Izanagi thought. Now he was certain as to what the Priestess of the Moon was scheming in that pretty head of hers.

"You may leave," he said afterwards.

The woman exhaled in relief before she scrambled to her feet and vanished into a newly woven Dimensional Portal.

Hibiki Shizuku was a woman too greedy for her own good. She was the person who contacted the Messengers and told them that she was more than willing to be their spy in return for immortality and pardon for the monstrous crimes she committed, which she claimed to be done under her liege lord's command. Outwardly, she tried to act as though she had come back to the Light but Izanagi and Yuusaku knew her probably better than she did herself. The woman was in fact double-crossing both the Immortals of Heaven and her own comrades, pitching them against one another so she would always be the one who benefited the most in the end. Should the Orochi Followers succeed in overtaking the whole world, she would rule over humanity in a position that was higher than any king of queen could have wished for. Yet, should Izumo emerge victorious instead, she would gain immortality and lose nothing except the Orochi's tainted name. _Dangerous woman, _he thought. That was what she was.

Putting Hibiki Shizuku out of his head, he focused on the issue of the Priestess of the Moon. Once again, he had been correct. He was definitely not getting any sleep for another long time. Heaving a deep, dark sigh, he made a Portal to go back to the Holy City. There was much to be done.

* * *

When Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne descended on the rocky surface of the Moon, she found herself standing in front of the remaining of the Lunar Shrine, where the Priestesses of Kannazukionce lived. Three thousand years ago, it was an impressive structure situated atop a breath-taking land. Now, it was but a heap of burnt wood and darkened stones. And the most incredible about this whole business was the fact that neither the Dark God Yamata no Orochi nor the Sword God Ame no Murakumo was responsible to the destruction of the Lunar Shrine. It was the Original Priestess of the Moon who had reduced the structure to this pitiful state.

"You are quite early," commented the Regent of the World, who walked out calmly from a Portal to Rinne's left. In a snowy hagoromo the style and material of which reflected her high station, with raven hair that fell luxuriantly to her waist, the Mother of All was a stunning woman who looked as though she was in her late twenties. Next to her, Tsukiyomi the Goddess of the Moon seemed more like her younger sister than daughter.

"Izanami-sama." Rinne fell down on one knee, her right hand placed primly on heart.

"Shall we go, then?" the Lady of Reiha said without preamble.

"Yes."

The Supreme Ruler of the Underworld took out something from inside her hagoromo and raised it high in the air. It was a crystal brooch in the shape of the sun, her Amaterasu-nee-sama's namesake. Rinne knew _what_ it was going to be used for. She was even aware of _how_ it was made. Of course, she knew everything that she needed to, after all.

Golden light blazed from the brooch. When it had finally died down, both of them had already been brought into a small room that was brightly lit, a room the opened shoji doors of which showed her a white lily field that stretched to the furthest corner of the horizon. It was also the room in which one man sat in a slump, one man whose handsome face retained neither colors nor emotions, one man who looked as though he no longer lived.

_Akira..._ Tears dripped from Rinne's face as she ran to the man she had always loved. She would not mind if Izanami-sama was watching. She would not care whether the Great Mother was in the room at all. She only wanted to embrace him right now. _"Akira..." _she called out to the man whom she was forced to abandon three thousand years ago.


	11. Unfading wamrth

_**EPISODE TEN: UNFADING WARMTH.**_

* * *

Unlike most of the children out there in the world, she was neither born from a mother's womb nor given life in the shape of a little baby. Her true form aside, her appearance had always been that of a young woman in her early twenties, fully cognizant of the world at large the moment she opened her eyes and looked. In her brain lay all the knowledge the Immortals of Heaven had gathered, that which perhaps all the books in mortal world combined would not be enough to contain. She even knew of things that human would never believe existed. In her body, unbelievable strength coursed. In her veins flowed fierce currents that perhaps held as much energy as the sea did water. She was what people would place between Gods and mortals, but she was neither, for she bore no resemblance to both. She was what people would classify as a weapon, one that boasted absolute powers, inspiring both terror and awe. She was what they named Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne, the Seraphim Blade. 

Rinne's existence began in the laboratory of Izumo's R&D Division, the so-called most crooked place in the Three Worlds. All that she remembered was a morning in which she was removed from one of those crystal pillars filled with transparent liquid and the very same morning in which she had woken up to white-clad figures whose faces showed as much emotion as a stone. They talked to her as though she were a guinea pig. They studied her the way they would an object proved to be most interesting. They scared her with lightless eyes behind spectacles and with calculating gazes that made her feel dirty enough to want to take a long bath.

Yet, one of those people was different. There was one person who had approached Rinne, smiled at her kindly, and draped a cloak across her naked body while the rest never seemed to notice that Rinne was baring her whole self to the world. It was a beautiful woman with long, luxuriant black hair who had a smile that warmed one's heart. That woman's name was Izanami, the Lady of Reiha as well as the Regent of the Underworld.

After finding her suitable clothes, Izanami-sama pulled Rinne aside and explained to her the reason for her makings in a voice that belonged to a loving mother speaking to her own child. Apparently, Heaven had succeeded in creating a Sword God whose strength transcended all save the Lord of Heaven, Izanagi himself. That very Sword God was supposed to act as a Slayer who would rid the human world of all the demons that plagued the dead of night. That very Sword God would become her Master, for she, Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne, was a weapon forged for his sake. The Regent of the Underworld had also revealed to her that since the Ruler of Heaven was extremely unskilled when it came to designing weapons – the Lady then added in an extremely amused voice that Izanagi could not even forge himself a decent knife to peel fruits – he had asked her to be the one in charge of the project. It was her who had provided the thousand details without which Rinne would never be completed. It had been then that Rinne began to think of the Regent as her blood mother.

Once the explanation was done with, the older woman led Rinne to the Heavenly Palace, where she was introduced to six High Immortals that changed her life forever.

Her first impression of Izanagi the Lord of Izumo was not as good as she had expected. Somewhere in her mind, she had assumed that since Izanagi was a Maker just like the Lady of Reiha, he would resemble latter at least a little bit. She had imagined a fatherly man who would welcome her with as much affection as the Regent of the Underworld. Rinne could not have been more wrong. The Ruler of Heaven made those researchers in the R&D Division look pleasant and friendly, for his face seemed to be made of steel and his blood appeared to be clogged with floating icebergs. Worse, he had made it clear to Rinne that he did not intend to see her more than a mere object that he would use whenever he felt like it. She had decided to forget about the man the second he finished saying that.

Her second surprise came when she met the Goddess of the Sun, who happened to be the daughter to the man who had violently disabused her of the thought of having a kind father. The strikingly beautiful eighteen-year-old Amaterasu was the exact opposite of the Lord of Izumo the way she was vibrant, cheerful, and did not have an ounce of respect for the rules and regulations the man set forth. The golden-haired girl was in fact the one who had insisted that Rinne called her _"nee-sama"_ even though Rinne appeared to be at least several years older than her. The young girl reasoned that because age was all that mattered and that Rinne practically was less than a day old, she had to settle for being the youngest. That in itself amused her so greatly she agreed without a second thought.

If Rinne was amazed by Izanagi's cheerful daughter, she was completely disappointed with the Regent's own child, Tsukiyomi the Goddess of the Moon. It would have made much more sense had Rinne been told that Amaterasu-nee-sama was the daughter of Izanami-sama and Tsukiyomi Izanagi's. Indeed, although the Moon Goddess inherited her mother's regal beauty and grace, the unsmiling silver-haired girl had none of the Lady's gentle and warm personality. At the first glance that she received from the girl, she had known right away that the eighteen-year-old cared naught about someone to whom she was introduced out of the blue. Although she was by no means arrogant, Tsukiyomi was simply not the type who could be easily befriended. Even Susanou and Kagutsuchi had admitted that the Moon Goddess shared with no one what lay in her heart.

Rinne soon learned that it was _not_ true.

The twins had had no idea that Goddess of the Sun, their beloved onee-sama, was the sole exception to that fact. The golden-haired girl was the only person in this world to whom Tsukiyomi opened her heart, to whom she would show her true smile, and for whom she would discard the barrier she erected between herself and the world. Not that Rinne expected the brothers to realize what was going on between their blood sister and her childhood friend. They were only twelve then, too young to understand a maiden's heart.

It took Rinne little time and effort to see that her Amaterasu-nee-sama was special in the silver-haired girl's eyes, for only in the former's presence would the latter act the way she would not with anyone else. To other Immortals, the Moon Goddess was elegance incarnate, the very quintessence of frost, and an ice block to the core of her existence. In front of her childhood friend, she, surprisingly, became a girl whose temper flared every minute. More than once Rinne had had her mouth hanging in disbelief when she caught a glimpse of the Moon Goddess lashing out her anger at the golden-haired girl because the latter chose to douse an elderly God with chilling water. The strangest thing was that even when one was shouting at the top of her lungs and one meekly sat there and scratched her cheek ruefully, Rinne was under the impression that both were enjoying themselves to the fullest.

The more time Rinne spent around them, the clearer the nature of their relationship became to her. She always had to refrain herself from laughing at some unsuspecting God who commented that the golden-haired and the silver-haired girls were as close as blood sisters. Had that God paid more attention to the Goddesses' eyes whenever they talked to or spoke of each other, listened a bit more closely to the girls' caressing tones whenever they uttered each other's name, and looked at the way they always held hands as soon as they got near one another, he would have realized that they were in fact lovebirds who could not stand being apart. Oddly enough, it turned out that Amaterasu-nee-sama and Tsukiyomi had never confessed their feelings, or even tried to for that matter. If Rinne had to guess, she would say that they were just too shy and too inexperienced to admit their love to each other's face.

Interesting as it might seem to see two girls head over heels in love, Rinne had not cared much about them. Firstly it was because she thought it nothing out of the ordinary. If a woman could fall in love with a man, what could stop her from doing so with another woman? _None,_ she decided. Secondly, she was of the belief that whomever the Goddesses of the Sun and Moon chose for their romantic interest, it was not the business of anybody else, least of own hers. Thirdly and finally, her attention was all devoted to the sixth member of the Lord of Izumo's eccentric family... and also the Master that she was born to serve.

Even if Rinne were to reincarnate twice over, she would never forget the image of Ame no Murakumo on the day they first met. After the Regent of the Underworld had finished introducing her to the Goddesses of the Sun and Moon and the Gods of Fire and Storms, she ushered Rinne to the back garden of the Heavenly Palace, where they found a ten-year-old boy playing with a flock of white doves. Despite not being almost girlishly beautiful the way Susanou no Mikoto was, this boy, whose body was clad in a white yukata, whose hair and eyes glowed platinum under the sunlight, was definitely more handsome that most. Truth be told, no one could have believed that the Sword God Ame no Murakumo, who was rumored to possess enough strength to level Izumo in one blow and also who was given the title of Demon Slayer, was a little boy who was dangling his feet atop a stone bench while laughing wholeheartedly at the birds who were eating at the sunflower seeds in his tiny hands. It was a laughter with which no chime made by human or Immortal could hope to compete.

Ame no Murakumo, nicknamed Akira by his sister the Goddess of the Sun, was born the antithesis of all that was evil. As such, he was granted a soul so pure it made falling snow look dark and a nature that would stay innocent until the end of time. Kind, sweet, and having a heart that had no capacity for darkness, Akira was indeed a child parents would be _dying_ to have. The Lord of Izumo was well aware of such a fact, so his eyes always sparkled with pride anytime someone mentioned his youngest offspring. The man had never realized, or maybe he had elected not to, that his crazy idea of a perfect Immortal had caused the boy all kinds of grief.

Rinne noticed the symptoms of a disturbed soul shortly after becoming Akira's friend. For some reason, the child tended to distance himself from other people and was liable to escape to a place where he could be on his own. It was the same even with Akira's blood siblings. Although he tried not to show much of his emotions, it was plain as day to Rinne that he was frightened of his brothers and sisters' touches. His face always went a little gray whenever Amaterasu-nee-sama, Susanou, or Kagutsuchi approached him. In those times, he always seemed more than ready to run away as though hell was on his heels.

He never did. Whatever he felt in his heart, he still loved his brothers and sisters more than anyone else in the world. As long as they wished, he would stay and play with them even if he always ended up trembling in some corner of his room afterwards. To her surprise, Rinne was the only one to whom Akira did not react in the same way. In fact, she was the first person in Heaven Akira voluntarily approached. She could still remember laughing at the incredulity on Susanou and Kagutsuchi's faces when they first heard Akira asking Rinne to go play in the garden with him.

As time flowed slowly by, Akira grew more and more attached to her as their friendship deepened and grew to be a bond stronger than blood. He would tell her everything he did during the day, and more often than not recite word by word whatever he had told other people. One day, when Rinne had earned enough of his trust, Akira told her his little secret, which was the reason why he kept his distance with other people and why he was not that close to his siblings despite the fact that he loved them very much.

It turned out that due to his innate purity, Akira was incredibly sensitive to what lurked in the depths of people's souls. The Immortals of Heaven scared him because they harbored horrendous emotions such as hatred, lust, greed, and envy deep within their hearts. It was no news to Rinne, for she was well aware that the Heavenly World, on contrary to what people might have chosen to believe, was no paradise. Similar to Onogoro, it was brutal, it was cruel, and it slowly but inexorably instilled darkness into its inhabitants as surely as acid eating into steel. Sadly enough, Izanagi's family was no exception to that.

Amaterasu-nee-sama and Tsukiyomi's love toward each other was very much a blazing fire, passionate and warm yet at the same time extremely dangerous. The latter was obsessed with the former to the point that she developed a jealousy on par with her insane powers. The girl did not look it but every time the Goddess of the Sun acted too friendly with other people, the Moon Goddess's blood was boiling with enough heat to burn the City to ashes. The golden-haired girl should be thankful that her childhood friend would forget and forgive the moment she smiled to her, for the Sun Goddess would have been dead otherwise... and long since.

On the other hand, it was not as though Amaterasu-nee-sama's soul was any less perilous, it being filled to bursting with thoughts of the other girl and all. Akira ran the risk of having his consciousness drawn into maelstrom of love and desire just by being near her. Despite the fact that the child never said it out loud, Rinne could guess that among the siblings, his apprehension toward the Goddess of the Sun was the strongest. Sometimes he could not help but flinch at a touch from her. Sometimes his face would pale to the color of a sheet of paper at a kiss she placed on his forehead. Usually after that had happened, the young Sword God would run to Rinne's side and quivered in her embrace until he calmed down.

Susanou and Kagutsuchi did not fare much better than her sister did. They were only twelve then, yet their souls were by no means friendly places. For Kagutsuchi, the kindness and gentleness he showed to his family could not eclipse the fact that at heart, he was hot-headed, violent, and possessed half the wits of children his age. Susanou no Mikoto, on the other hand, was the exact opposite. Although the kid was always cool, calm and collected, he had more than enough share of attitude problem. Being an egomaniac to the bones, Susanou looked down on other people outside the family and treated them with barely hidden contempt. To him, they were probably as lovely as a morbid dog.

Having such siblings, there was no wonder why Akira was so fascinated with her. Since Rinne was a weapon, neither mortal nor Immortal, the concept of negative emotions did not apply to her. In Akira's eyes, Rinne's heart was a crystal ball, transparent, clear, and untainted. While Heaven itself was a hostile place for Akira, Rinne's side was one where he could find peace and comfort, where he was undisturbed by the darkness of any other God or Goddess.

Rinne, finally had a purpose in life after she found someone she wanted to protect, had sworn to save Akira from his unending miseries. She was confident that if she tried her best, she could keep the extreme purity of the boy's soul from hurting himself. She was disabused of such naïve notions upon realizing that even if she remained by Akira's side days and nights, the world would always find a way to hurt him. The older the Sword God grew, the worse his situation became. At the age of fifteen, the R&D Division of Heaven put Akira under their twisted experiments. Those damned researchers caught demons and ghouls and whatnots from Onogoro and forced Akira to fight them until fatigue defeated him and knocked him unconscious. Akira always woke up screaming in his room after that. Izanagi, always hiding in that study of his and dreaming of his adopted daughter, cared not a jig about the fact that every night, his youngest son cried for the vicious beasts he slain with his own hand and the bloodthirsty demons felled by Rinne's edges.

Their lives took a drastic turn upon Akira's turning twenty. Perhaps it was all those times Rinne had spent holding him tightly so he could cry his eyes out within the curve of her arms that made her realize the one in her embrace had grown into a handsome young man and was no longer the child with whom she used to play hide-and-seek. Honest to the heavens, she neither thought she would look at his smile and blush like a giddy girl in love nor imagined that she would or moon after him days and nights. And of course, she had had no clue as to how troublesome it was to fall in love with someone to whom she could not hide her ever-growing feelings and her quivering heart. Rinne ended up running away from him whenever those stupid butterflies trounced her stomach, which meant most of the times they were together.

Their, ironically, hide-and-seek game continued for another while until the day Akira managed to corner her and inevitably discovered the truth. She had cried like a baby then because she feared Akira would hate her. She could not help thinking that way. It was really shameful to fall in love with someone she had been caring for since little. It was not right to feel that way toward someone who had been looking up to her as a respectable sister for almost a decade. The outcome was not what she expected, however. Akira had hugged her instead of sneering at her face in disgust. He had told Rinne that he loved her too rather than saying that she should vanish from his sight forever. If she recalled it correctly, she had fainted dead shortly afterwards.

From that point onward, Akira's free time was exclusively devoted to Rinne. They would sit somewhere in the back garden of the Heavenly Palace, gazing at the sun fleeting toward the western sky or the pretty stars sparkling in the heavens. Once in a while, he would find some secluded spot to offer her a quick brush on the lips. Other than that, they were satisfied with just staying by each other's side.

Then the real trouble started. Rinne should have known that something was very wrong when Akira took her to Izanagi's study. She should have noticed that he would never go see his father, whom he rarely had the chance to meet, with a face belong on a kid on his way to the festival. Yet, she did not, most probably because she could barely think straight while the Sword God was talking to her and beaming at her with that adorable smile. She only realized the disaster thundering down their heads the moment he told the Lord of Izumo that he would like to marry her.

Despite her love for Akira's childlike innocence and his ability to find good in almost everybody, she had to admit that he was too naïve at times. Even after the incident with Amaterasu-nee-sama and Tsukiyomi, the cause of the Great Conflict between Heaven and the Underworld, Akira still believed that the Lord of Izumo could learn to become a better man. He failed to realize that the Ruler of Heaven, who probably did not know what the word kindness meant, had never been a good man and probably would never be. The Sword God had never expected to see his father explode in fury and slap him across the face.

In the eyes of the male Maker of the World, Rinne was a weapon, and even if that weapon possessed a humanoid form, _it_ was by no means worthy of his precious son the Sword God. Probably never in his wildest dreams did Akira imagine that the meeting with the Lord of Izumo on that fateful day landed him into this situation, where Rinne found eternal exile from Heaven at the end of her road. Since her lover was the pride of the Ruler of Heaven, she never expected him to be forced to spend three thousand years in solitude and darkness. Nor did she ever thought that they were going to be reunited in such a fashion, where she was but a shadow of what she was... and he... a breathing corpse who sat limply in his armchair with a face so pale and haggard one would have thought he had been starved for days, with a pair of lightless eyes that kept gazing out at the illusionary field of white lilies beyond the shoji doors in front of him.

"Akira," she called, sensing tears welling up in her eyes. "Akira." She ran to him. Before she could take a second step, she found the Regent of the Underworld, who materialized out of thin air, standing between her and the man she loved. She forced herself to stop. Despite the look of sympathy on the older woman's face, the light of determination shining in her dark eyes told Rinne that she would surely haul her away from the Sword God should she continue to advance. The thought of violent crossed her mind and were immediately rejected. It was futile. Even if she had regained all her power, she was still no match for the female Maker of the World.

"Why, Izanami-sama?" she managed in a broken voice. Hot tears rolled down her cheeks. "It has been three thousand years since we were separated. Why do you stop me?" The last few words came out as unintelligible sobs despite her effort to form them properly. Her hands yearned to touch Akira's haggard face, to feel his warmth, to offer him comfort. Her heart ached knowing that she could not.

"Because you are no longer who you used to be, child," said the Regent, who lifted a hand to gently stroke Rinne's head. Her voice was racked with regret and sadness. "You... have become impure after your involvement with the Orochi." Her hand trailed down Rinne's forehead, face, throat, and stopped at her left breast, beneath which her heart was throbbing in pain. "If you touch him, you will hurt him more than he already is."

She collapsed onto her knees and wept openly into her hands. What the older woman said was correct. She no longer had the crystal-clear heart Akira loved. The unstained soul in which the Sword God used to find comfort and peace was no longer so. She bit on her underlip so hard a stream of blood trickled down from her mouth's corner. She had but forgotten that even her _body_ was more than tainted with what she had done and what she was still doing in the Orochi's midst. If she touched him now, all that she could do would be inflicting even more pain upon his already weakened body. She had succeeded in obtaining a power that could make her dream come true in the Human World... but in return, she had to sacrifice her purity, that which her lover treasured most. Rinne pounded her fists on the tatami mat and let out a string of full-throated wails.

"Come now, do not cry," said the Lady of Reiha, who also fell to her knees so that she could pull Rinne into her arms. "You are wasting time and Amaterasu's efforts. In order to get you in here unnoticed, she had risked a great many things. Do not let her feelings be in vein."

"I... am sorry." Rinne dabbed at face with the sleeves of her cape.

"Good." The Regent of the Underworld withdrew her arms and rose to her feet. "I am afraid this is the closest to Akira that I can allow you to be," she said with a grimace. "Forgive me, child."

Not saying anything and continuing to remain on her knees, Rinne stared at the man she loved while feeling knives cutting her skin and stakes driven through her heart. Eyes glued at the Sword God's face, she tried to etch it into her memories. During the last three thousand years, there were times she found herself crying uncontrollably in a corner of the Temple of the Dragons because her deteriorating memory prevented her from recalling Akira's noble features and because her happy moments were slowly slipping away from her grasp. She had clung on to them desperately, for she was ever fearful of a morning she woke up with a vague idea who a man named Ame no Murakumo was. Although it was unlikely that such a thing would happen again now that she had obtained a cure, she still wanted to carve as much of him into her mind as possible. After all... she did not have much time left to live...

* * *

Oota Reiko was immersed in a blessedly dreamless slumber when the urgent knocks on the door woke her up with a start. As she drowsily opened her eyes, she found her head buried in the curves of her arms, which were placed on her drawing table, right atop a large sheet of paper. A pencil was clutched in her right hand, an eraser in her left. She had fallen asleep while working on her story, it would seem. Tiredly lifting her head up, she scanned the interior of her room. 

The sunlight was beating on the thick red curtain that she placed over her window, painting the room with the color of blood. It had to be around noon right now. Reiko winced as she let go of her drawing tools and began to massage her temples with her fingers. Her head hurt as though she had drunk her way to bed the night before. She only wondered how long she had been sleeping. Reiko's thought cut off abruptly when her eyes fell on the piece of paper she had rested her head upon. Her breath caught. Not only did she draw it again despite her effort to make herself stop, this time she also had worked her own image into the drawing, consequently turning it into the most disturbing thing that she had ever created. _What were you thinking, Oota Reiko?!_ she thought bitterly.

Reiko grabbed the drawing and attempted to tear it into pieces. A second look at the piece of paper stayed her hand completely. She gritted her teeth while her whole body began to tremble. There was something so pretty about this drawing, so sweet, so heart-warming yet at the same time more reviling than anything she had ever touched. Torn between her own feelings, which contradicted one another point by point, she could only stand there like a lamp post with her eyes riveted on the pencil-drawn figures on the paper. She could not understand why she was hesitating in destroying this piece of drawing when she had crumpled those before it with her own hands and stuffed them into the wastebasket. _Because you wish it to happen, and you know it,_ some tiny voice answered from the back of her head. She shivered. It _was_ the truth.

The knocking on the door intensified and made Reiko frown. _Hammering is more like it, _she thought in irritation before she put the piece of paper back on the drawing table. She would deal with it later, when she had already sorted out the warring feelings in her heart. She only hoped she could before she was driven insane.

"Open the door, Reiko!" Korona's voice called. Reiko's fists clenched at her sides. This marked the hundredth time since she first decided to refuse the Orochi Fourth Head access. To her dismay, the pop idol insisted on coming to her room and banging on her door even though it was evident that her presence was not what Reiko wanted. During the last couple of days, there were times when she caught herself wondering whether locking the other girl out was actually more troublesome than simply letting her in. Muttering darkly under her breath about crazy and persistent girls, Reiko threw herself atop her bed and decided to ignore the other Follower again.

"Fine," Korona shouted. Reiko grimaced. Although the Fourth Head actually had a voice that was very good for singing – the song of hers that was on the top-one-hundred list was quite lovely in Reiko's opinion – it became something as pleasant as the sound of nails clawing at a blackboard when the girl was furious. "I'll report to the Lord that you do not care much about his summons."

"Hold on!" Reiko hastily spoke up. While sighing in utmost exasperation and thinking that her liege lord had chosen the worst person to relay his command, she got off the bed and walked to her door. Upon opening it, she saw a fuming Orochi Fourth Head standing with a bent knee and hands planted firmly on her hips. Her face could have been carved out of a storm cloud. Her emerald eyes were blazing with anger. It had been the first time Reiko saw the young girl looking so murderous. Her treatment toward the pop idol had struck some sensitive nerve, no doubt.

"Get out of my way," Reiko commanded after clearing her throat. The other girl refused to budge an inch and acted as though she had not heard a single word. Frowning in frustration, Reiko repeated in a much colder and more threatening voice, "I said get out of..."

Korona spared Reiko from having to finish that sentence by pushing her roughly back into the room and closed the door behind her once she had stepped inside. Reiko almost jumped in panic when she heard the bolt make a dry clicking sound as it locked into place. _What... is going on here?_ she thought in surprise. The pushover of an Orochi acting in such a forceful manner was not something she expected. On the same note, neither did she ever imagine that she was growing more and more intimidated by the light coming from the girl's emerald eyes. Her legs suddenly experienced an urgent urge to put more distance between her and the Fourth Head. She refused to let them.

"You are well aware the Lord will be displeased if we do not arrive on time, are you not?" Reiko demanded with a steely voice, which, to her astonishment, did not work on the pop idol.

"You don't have to worry," Korona said briskly. "There's no summons from the Lord."

_"You lied?"_ Reiko could not help but gape at the girl in utmost incredulity. _"How dare you?"_ Her mind was still struggling with the idea that the pushover of an Orochi she knew had just lied in the Dark God's name, something that she should soil herself before she even thought of doing.

"You'll be surprised to know what I would dare, Reiko," Korona growled in a dangerous voice. "Now tell me, why have you been avoiding me lately?"

"I am not avoiding you," she lied. She immediately wished that she had not upon realizing how the Fourth Head's eyes had become emerald fire that burned brilliantly in the dimly lit room. She dropped her own gaze almost instinctively and failed to lift it up so that she could convince the girl that she was telling the truth. _This is not good at all,_ she told herself in alarm. She was the stronger between them. If she wanted, she could crush the other Follower like an insect. Yet... there was little doubt which one of them currently had the more dominating presence. Someone had once told her that when the meek ones snapped, all hell broke loose. It was only now did she realize how true that statement was.

_"Then why the heck didn't you answer the door every time I knocked?"_ Korona burst. With every heated word that left her lips, she made a step forward, and Reiko made one backward even though she did not want to. Her legs seemed to have a will of their own. _"Why did you always turn around and hurry back to your room every time you saw me in the hallway? Why?!"_

Reiko's back slammed painfully against the wall. There she stood rigidly with the tip of the pop idol's nose an inch away from hers and with the Fourth Head's hands gripping her collar. Much as she did not want to, she had to admit that she was being scared by the dangerous gleam in the girl's emerald eyes, by her pretty face that was reddened from anger, and most of all, by the possibility that Reiko would lose control over herself, hug the other Follower tightly, and placed a kiss on her lips just so that she could be calmed down.

After a while of staring at Reiko, the Fourth Head heaved a deep sigh and unlatched her hands. Her face grew considerably softer, her gaze much less heated, as she took a step backward. When she spoke up again, her voice was barely louder than a whisper, "You've realized that I love you." Emerald eyes, tinged by sadness, regarded Reiko calmly, if a touch exasperatedly. "That's why you've been avoiding me, right?"

"I..." Reiko tried to turn her head. Her attempt was spoiled by the pop idol's hands, which were placed firmly on her cheeks before she could twitch.

"I'm tired of chasing after you already," Korona declared, her voice suddenly quiet. "Just go ahead and say it, Reiko, how do you feel about me?"

Although Reiko was rather surprised at the straightforward question, she immediately noticed the opening of which she could take advantage. "I hate you," Reiko said with as much conviction as she could muster. "Do you hear that? I hate you!" She could hear every particle of her body ringing out in outrage. She could hear a voice snarling _"Liar!"_ from the back of her head. She tried to ignore them.

"Then why did you go out of your way to protect me yesterday?" the other girl asked, appearing unruffled by the heated answer that she was given.

"Because you are my comrade," Reiko answered coldly. "Do not read too much into it."

"Fine," Korona muttered darkly. "What is it you hate about me?"

"Your clothes, or the lack thereof, for starter. I hate the way you flaunted your body every time you went out. I hate it so much that the mere sight of you disgusts me."

"If you want, I can throw them all away," replied the Fourth Head quickly in flat voice. The casualness with which she made her answer almost threw Reiko off-balance. She was surprised, for she knew how much those clothes cost and how much the pop idol loved them. Quickly masking her emotions, she searched her mind for reasons that she could use to convince the girl that all she felt toward her was hate. Her efforts proved to be fruitful.

"I hate singers, especially pop idols like you." Reiko sneered at the girl whom she was trying to deceive, toward whom she felt much more than simple friendship. If her target was offended, she did not show any sign. "You people are noisy, vain, and obsessed with glamour," Reiko added in the hope that she could shatter the pop idol's hope that they could become a couple. A look at Korona's face told her that her words made as much impact as a drop of water on a rock.

"If you want, I'll quit tomorrow," the Fourth Head said simply. She could have just announced that she was going to have a haircut later in the day.

"What?" Reiko stared at Korona incredulously, sensing her eyeballs trying to jump out of her sockets. "It is the job you love! You did not quit even after what happened to you in the past and now you would just because _I_ dislike it?" As the words poured out from her mouth, something began to pull at her heartstring and reminded her how she herself had given up everything she had just for a chance to be by Natsune's side. The current situation was eerily similar to what had happened in the past.

"It's past time you realized I meant what I said the day you met me in the churchyard, Reiko," Korona whispered. "I would trade anything I ever own, my Orochi powers, the promise for eternal life, anything, for only a tiny bit of your love." Those sincere words, spoken in her caressing voice, crashed in Reiko's mind in all of their austerity. Her patience cracked.

_"You will not have it!"_ she shouted. _"Whatever you do, you cannot change the fact that what I hate most about you is your personality! Look at you, Fourth Head! You are a spineless Orochi who could not even kill! You are a pushover who could not even protect yourself against that brat of a mortal!"_

"How many do you want me to kill?" Korona asked. "I can bring their heads back to you in an hour." All of that was delivered in a voice fit for discussing the price of a book. Determination blazed in her emerald eyes.

"You..." Reiko started but could not seem to find a way to finish what she wished to say. No more words came out of her mouth.

"For you, I can slaughter the whole world, Reiko," Korona said, her hand clutching her mouth as though it could stop her voice from breaking like glass. "Why can't you understand that?"

Reiko pressed herself against the wall behind her back in a vain attempt to create as much distance as possible between her and the Fourth Head. There she held her arms close to her body and trembled. She did not dare look at Korona now, for she knew all too well that she could not bear seeing the girl hurt, because she knew that should the younger girl shed even just one drop of tear, Reiko's self-restraints would be shattered into pieces. And once that happened, she doubted she could stop herself from rushing to the pop idol's side, embracing her, comforting her, and kissing her for all she was worth.

Her head rang in alarm at the thought. _Oh no!_ Her eyes darted toward the piece of paper she had left on her table just before Korona forced her way into the room. Cold sweats poured out from her pores like water out of a drain in a stormy day. The drawing was lying there, just several feet from where they stood, and facing up for all eyes to see. _She must not see that! She must not!_ Her panic only grew in a rapid rate as she hastily searched for a way that would help her get rid of the thing without being obvious and failed to find one. _I should have ripped it to shreds!_ she thought in horror and in vain. If she could, she would have done it long since.

Another shock hit her across the face the moment she realized that she had been looking at her drawing table for far too long, probably with a face that shouted suspicious. To make matters far worse, Korona had noticed. Reiko could only watch in frozen horror as the pop idol slowly turned her head toward that which Reiko wanted her to look away from. Her heart almost exploded when the Fourth Head's eyes widened and her mouth let out a gasp. _She saw it! She saw it! She saw it! She saw it!_ something raved endlessly in Reiko's mind.

All rational thoughts ended. Reiko lunged at the table, her arm reaching out toward the drawing. Yet she was too late... and too hasty to remember that with the power of an Orochi, she could destroy the flimsy piece of paper where it sat rather than reclaim it. The thing, to her dismay, rustled as it lifted itself into the air and ended up in Korona's hand. Reiko could almost stamp her feet in frustration. _You are the biggest fool in the world, Oota Reiko! _she snarled at herself in her head.

"You said you hated me, Reiko," Korona said quietly after a moment of studying the drawing. "Then what's the meaning of this?" The Fourth Head thrust the piece of paper at her with a joyous gleam in her eyes.

On the paper, there was something Reiko would never have sketched in her right mind. It was a picture depicting two figures entwined in an intimate embrace, hands clasped in hands, lips locking onto lips. One of them was the Fourth Head of the Orochi. The other was... Reiko herself. She began to chew on her underlip furiously. She had always known that she had a habit of doodling when she was deeply immersed in thoughts but never in her life had she imagined that one day such a thing would land in her into a most grievous pinch.

It turned out that last night, just like many restless ones before it, Reiko had sat in front of her table and thought about how pretty Korona appeared in her eyes lately, about how much better the younger girl would look if she would just let Reiko burn her wardrobe and buy her a new one. She knew she should not be mooning over the pop idol, she scorned herself for it and even went as far as slapping herself a few times, yet she could not help but realize that she had come to like the other girl a lot, and that maybe she had fallen in love with the Fourth Head despite her reluctance. All the while, she had never noticed that her hand was grabbing a pencil and that it was dancing over a piece of paper even though she was looking straight ahead.

"Why are you keeping silent?" Korona asked.

Reiko bore her eyes at the wall behind the Fourth Head, not really knowing how to answer.

Suddenly, the pop idol walked toward the trash can that was filled to the brim with crumpled pieces paper. She pulled them out and proceeded to flatten them over the floor one by one. Once she had emptied the can, she burst into tears. Although Reiko had known exactly what the girl would find there, she did not even consider stopping her. It was pointless. After all, the sketch in which the two of them were kissing was by far worse than the rest combined. After all, now that Korona had learned of Reiko's feelings toward her, all these other sketches – the sole subject of which was the younger girl, dressed in all kinds of clothes Reiko thought would look good on her, all created in the same situation as the first – were but insignificant.

Thoughts fled her mind altogether when she realized that Korona, who had crossed the distance separating them without her noticing, was standing right less than an inch away. The girl's face, pretty and soaked with tears, was painted with so much love that she could not help but want to kiss her, Before she knew what was happening, the Fourth Head had already thrown her arms around her neck and pressed her lips onto hers. Shocked, Reiko tried to push the pop idol away. It was strange how even when her hands were grabbing at Korona's shoulders, they were pulling her in even closer instead of doing the opposite. So the kiss deepened, so their lips could not seem to part, and so all hell broke loose.

Once again, Reiko's back hit the wall under Korona's advance. This time, the impact was strong enough to knock down a picture case atop a small table nearby. The case, made entirely from glass, broke into a million pieces upon crashing upon the wooden floor. Its shattering sound took both Reiko and Korona's attention, thus halting the dance of their tongues and lips. Horrified, she saw that lying amidst the fragments was a picture of her and her deceased girlfriend, Natsune. A firestorm, emerging from deep within her heart, spread across her body.

Cold blue light flared from Reiko's hand and materialized into her Sealed Sword.

"You will leave this room, now," she whispered in her coldest voice as the thin but razor-sharp blade of Asayuki slid soundlessly into the gap between their throats. "Once you do, you will not show your face to me ever again."

"But... but..." the Fourth Head stammered.

Reiko did not give the girl much time to protest. After she had brutally pushed the Fourth Head off of her, she twisted her wrist and swung the Ice Bladein a wide arc. The door sprang open at the same time that an icy wind rose around Korona before it proceeded to mercilessly bind her hands and feet. At Reiko's command, the girl was tossed out the room in an instant. The door then swung back into place, robbing her of the sight of the pop idol, someone she loved yet at the same time did not want to love.

_"Open up, Reiko!" _the other Follower screamed as she pounded her hands fiercely on the wooden door. _"Please!" _

Ignoring any sound she heard, Reiko casually threw Asayuki away and picked up the picture of Natsune and her that was lying amount the shattered pieces of glass. _I am sorry, Natsune,_ she cried in silence as she held the picture closer to her heart. Tears trickled down the corners of her eyes. She did not know that she could still shed them. She had thought that she had dried them all when her lover departed from this world five years ago and left her living with no purpose other than vengeance. _I swore that I would love no one except you but_..._ but I have betrayed you. I am sorry._ She collapsed onto her knees sand wept.

_"Reiko!"_ the Fourth Head was still screaming outside the room.

* * *

Girochi Tokiya had just finished undoing the anti-trespassing Seal he cast on his room when he heard Korona's loud, anguished voice echoing in from the far end of the spacious hallway, where he knew the quarters of Oota Reiko the Fifth Head were located. Tokiya shook his head in amusement. Those two had been making a lot of noises lately and in his humble opinion, unless they sorted things out, the Temple of the Dragons would probably never have a moment's peace. He could not seem to comprehend why they were still having problems, in any case. Even a blind man could see that both of them were madly in love. Another couple would have gotten together and bedded each other long since. 

Tokiya put the matter out of his mind and opened the door to his own room. He walked in... and felt as though he had been dropped into a hole that he did not know existed. It happened so abruptly and ended in an equally abrupt manner that before Tokiya could act, he had already fallen headfirst into a waist-deep pond, splashing water everywhere. The cold immediately seeped through his clothes as though they were made of paper and began to sting against every inch of his skin.

After several moments of fierce struggle – his long back coat and his suit proved to be quite troublesome in the water – Tokiya managed to swim to a shallower place in the pond and get back on his feet. Brushing his wet hair off of his face, he turned his head and scanned the vicinity. He was currently somewhere in a forest, he believed, for he was surrounded by green trees that towered over the ground and spread their cool shades under the noon sun on high. Further away, according to his enhanced Orochi eyes, rose the tiled roofs of Shingetsu Grand Shrine. He could the stench of Mahoroba's spiritual stronghold rankling in his nose. He could hear the prayers of its inhabitants droning irritatingly in his ears. He could feel its sanctity cutting into his flesh. His Orochi instincts immediately beckoned him to draw out his Sealed Sword and proceed to lay waste upon the last hiding place that the Priestess of the Sun had.

"Lovely weather, is it not, Third Head?" said a girl's melodious voice from behind him.

Tokiya's head whipped around and found Kannazuki Aoi, who was standing at the edge of the pond and smiling at him in a way that would have halted any other man's heart. Even when she looked murderously cold, she was easily one of the most beautiful girls he had ever laid eyes upon. Instinctively he reached into his coat pocket and searched for that which he had been carrying with him as a measure of protection. He almost heaved a sigh of relief. It was still there. He invoked a tiny bit of his powers and sent it into the little object. Now, if he could manage to stay alive for the next few minutes, everything would be okay.

"You have just been transported to a hostile place by someone on your own side," the renegade Priestess of the Moon gave him a calm yet curious look, "yet you do not show the slightest evidence of surprise or shock. Some would say that you were expecting me."

"You are hardly on _anyone's_ side, Kannazuki Aoi," he pointed out quietly while preparing himself for anything that the blue-haired girl might hurl at him. He could still remember very well how she had empty-handedly defeated him and his Aneki at the same time, taken their weapons away from them with contemptuous ease, destroyed the Sealed Swords without even lifting a hand, and very nearly sent them to the Afterlife in the process. The traitor Seventh Head should be thanking the powers that be that he had survived a meeting with her.

"Oh, really?" Aoi smiled a smile that never reached her sapphire eyes. The girl was simply baring her prefect rows of teeth. "I thought I had pledged my allegiance to your Lord."

_"Allegiance?"_ Tokiya gave her a look of sheer disbelief. "You have your own motives in coming to the Temple and you know it."

"And you do not, Girochi Tokiya?" The Priestess of the Moon seated herself on top of a flat boulder, her legs crossed pleasantly, her delicate chin propped atop her wrist.

"Do not group me with your _kind_, Priestess," he replied coolly. Any other man in his place would look at her and become amazed at her beautiful face, on which he would find nothing except an innocent expression. Yet, Tokiya knew better than that, for he had been looking into her eyes from the very start. Those sapphire gems only harbored murderous intentions.

"Girochi Tokiya, you, is a lady killer, a playboy, and arguably the cruelest heartbreaker in the world," Aoi said, her vacant hand idly pulling at a lock of hair above her ear. "You changed girlfriends as usually as another man would clothes. Yet, beneath that shallow and lecherous façade of yours lies something that you have been hiding even from everyone else." Sapphire eyes regarded him in great amusement. Pretty lips curved upward in a knowing smile. "A secret that you do not dare reveal to the person whom you hold dear in your heart."

"What are you getting at, Kannazuki Aoi?" Tokiya demanded.

"Just doing a little analysis, dear Orochi Third Head." Aoi glanced at him, her spellbinding gaze much colder than the water he was standing in. "As far as I can see, you were searching for substitutes. Since you could not have what you wish for, you hunted your way through the streets of the Human World, picked up girls at your pleasure, then dumped them as soon as you had your ways. Yet, you could not be satisfied no matter how many lives you devastated, for they only reminded you of the ruthlessness of reality. In the aftermath of any of your lightning-quick relationships, the only thing that you realized was that none of them could take the place of the one you really cherished." Each of her words hit him like a steel hammer.

"You... how do you know that?" he trembled where he stood and felt the claws of panic wrapping around his limbs and weaken them.

"A little trick of mine." The Priestess of the Moon gave a silvery laugh. "But more importantly, Third Head, I wonder how your target of affection would do should she be made aware of this fact? Would she abandon her current lover, whom may I remind you she worships, for your sake? Or would she spurn your love and hate you forever?"

"What do you want?" Tokiya muttered in a resigned manner, suddenly realizing that this was more or less a replay of the past. This had been how the Orochi Second Head, his sister, devastated Himemiya Chikane. This had been how the Vice Commander of the Orochi had crushed her heart and pulled her down to her knees. He had never thought that what he had done for his sister's sake would come back and bite him one day.

"What I want is to teach you that you are in no position to ridicule others when you, too, harbor secrets."

"At least my secret is relevant to none but myself," he said, his eyes gazing at the blue-haired girl intently, his voice growing firm. "Yours, on the other hand, endangers every single one of us." Were he to let her do as she wished, she would single-handedly destroy everything his liege lord had been trying to accomplish during the last three thousand years. Unless she was stopped, no Followers would live to see their dreams come true. Although he was reluctant to hurt her after everything he had done to her under Miyako's command, he would not hesitate when it came to protect all that he had been living for.

"If you say so." Aoi laughed.

"Why else would you shield your mind, Priestess?" Tokiya pointed out. "What do you have to hide from us?"

"You of all people should know." The casual smile on her lips would have made any freezing blizzard that Asayuki the Ice Blade could have dealt seem as gentle as a breeze in spring. "Why ask when you can use Suikyou to discover my secrets?"

There was nothing he could say in response. As a rule, no mortal was impervious to Suikyou the Water Blade, which had the power to invade its victims' minds regardless of the defense they might put up. The Priestess of the Moon was the sole exception to that rule. No matter how hard Tokiya tried during the last twenty-four hours, he failed miserably at peeking into her mind. It was as if he was standing in front of a paper-thin but infinitely high range of mountain while what he wanted lay safely on the other side, forever beyond his grasp.

"Well, Third Head?"

"Stop acting so confident, Priestess. Do you truly believe that I do not know why you brought me here?" he said while his Orochi mind made a hasty scan of the vicinity. There was no sign of any Dimensional Portal that he could sense. _What are you doing?_ he thought worriedly. _Please hurry up! _"You are afraid of me."

"True, I took you here," Aoi agreed. "It would be too preposterous to say that I was merely taking a walk near Shingetsu Grand Shrine when you suddenly appeared in front of me. But really, Third Head, I have no particular reason to be _afraid_ of you."

"Yes you do, for you know you cannot put up such a defense for the rest of your life," he replied calmly. In his chest, his heart was pounding faster and faster in fright and panic. He could do nothing to slow it down, not when he knew that unless help arrived soon, he was not going to be as lucky as the Seventh Head. "However strong you are, you still have limits. Sooner or later, you will run out of power, and your mental barrier shall fade. What you fear is the day that you will finally become vulnerable to Suikyou's power."

"You have never trusted me, I would imagine," the Priestess said. Her smile actually held a little bit of mirth, amazing as it might seem. Not that her sapphire eyes had grown any warmer though. They were still as cold and murderous as ever.

"No." He shook his head. "I suspected you the very second I finished listening to what you said in the audience with the Lord."

"Why?"

"Do you remember the day we found you alone in your secret garden?"

"Vividly."

"On that day, your Priestess power awakened." Tokiya said, putting his hands into the coat's pockets to hide the fact that they were trembling in fear. He had to keep her talking, for he was certain that the moment she stopped would be the moment she made him envy the fate of the Nekoko the cat-fanatic. "That day, you broke our Swords with your silver light and almost killed us in the process. However, you had unknowingly allowed me to look into your past-life memories in that same light."

"Just what you might find in a normal girl's mind, I am sure." Her gaze suddenly became distant. It was as though she was trying to recall what had happened in the shadow of the past. Whatever that she remembered, though, it failed to improve her mood. Quite the opposite, it made her face darken in what seemed to be anger and wiped her mouth clean of that mysterious smile. He almost sympathized with her.

"Denials will get you no where," he said quietly. "You are well aware of the fact that what I saw proved how dishonest your story was."

"It was strange that I am still safe and sound while you hold the keys to my undoing." Kannazuki Aoi gave her lips a thoughtful tap. "I never dreamed that you would let me off the hook so easily."

"It was not so," Tokiya announced after he had made another scan of the forest with his mind. No traces of a Dimensional Portal were detected. He began to despair. "I did come to the Lord and laid out the evidence for him to see. He just... refused to listen to a word I said. He even claimed that I had fabricated the memories because of the grudge I held against you. He even forbade me to conduct any other investigation." The outcome of that audience yesterday had left him speechless and more suspicious than ever. There had to be a reason why the Dark God was so insistent in believing every word the Priestess of the Moon said without actually trying to verify it. He only hoped he could discover that reason before the girl destroyed them all.

"Yet, you never did as commanded," the renegade Priestess pointed out. "Yesterday, you even tried to use Suikyou to delve into my consciousness. Fortunately for me, you failed."

Tokiya said nothing to that.

"You _are_ indeed formidable," she continued as a smile graced her lips once more. She sounded pleased despite what she had said. "You possess little might, but that does not make you any less dangerous."

"Thank you," Tokiya replied in resignation... and despair. "Compared to you, I am but a small fry." There was no sarcasm in his voice. It was the simple truth. Kannazuki Aoi was much more of a schemer than he could ever hope to be.

"Well, since we are reminiscing, I could not help but notice something _funny_, Third Head." Her smile grew a little bit wider and more amused. "From the day of my reawakening, I have always been under the impression that you are a man of few words. Why, you left most the talking to your elder sister, did you not?"

He nodded grimly and wondered what she was trying to say. His breath caught a second later, when the explanation crashed down on him.

"So you see, I cannot help but be amazed by seeing how talkative you have become. Personally, I think it a little bit strange, if not suspicious," commented the Priestess absently. "It is as though you _were stalling_ for time."

Shocked to the base of his foundation, Tokiya could only stand stiffly like a lamp post and stared at the blue-haired girl, who had just declared that she was aware of what he was planning, while his hand tightened around the little spherical object in his coat pocket. _Where are you?_ he thought pleadingly. _If you do not come now, she is going to..._

"Give up, Girochi Tokiya," the Priestess said as she slowly rose to her feet. Standing at the edge of the pond, she was a queen who was about to declare a death sentence for a rebel. "He will not come."

Her words stilled his tongue and widened his eyes. He felt his nerves begin to unravel. His knees threatened to give in and drop him down on all four

"You made two mistakes, Orochi." Kannazuki Aoi raised her left hand overhead. Silver light, flaring brightly from her fingertips, poured inward to form a small sphere that was held tightly in her grasp. There, it began to stretch until it gained the shape of a brilliant rod of light. After a flash, it materialized into a katana the sheath of which was as blue as Aoi's hair and bore a silver Moon Crest. It was the Eye of Luna, the fearsome Kagetsuki. Fright overwhelmed him. "First, although you kept watching me from the shadows, you never thought that I, too, was observing you and every move you made."

Anger surfaced in his heart. If what she just claimed was indeed the truth, it would mean that the girl had been toying with him since the beginning of this pointless conversation.

"Your second mistake is the trust you placed on that man." The Moon Crest turned as she used her right hand to draw the Eye of Heaven out of the scabbard. A heartbeat later, the single-bladed sword, completely unsheathed, gleamed brilliantly under the sunlight. "You are a fool if you still expect him to come to your aid."

"He will," he insisted stubbornly. "Right at this moment, he is assembling the other Heads. If you know what is good for you, you will leave at once and return to the Sun Priestess's side, where you belong. There is nothing for you here except death." Knowing what she had gone through in the past, knowing what she was trying to achieve by coming to the Temple of the Dragon where her nemesis slept, he did not really want her to die. After all, they were more similar than he had thought.

"You are delusional." Sapphire eyes gazed at him with contempt and sympathy. "If he had _wanted_ to come, he would have appeared moments after I transported you to this place. After all, that crystal ball in your pocket is supposed to tell him your position, is it not?"

"What do you mean by _supposed to?"_ he demanded.

"Because that thing is not only a locator, Third Head, but also an eavesdropping device. It records whatever we say here and transmits it to the second terminal, which that man holds."

"That means..." The tragic truth dawned upon Tokiya. _So that is how it is,_ he thought. With his hope sinking into darkness faster than a rock would in water, he threw back his head and let out a gust of laughter that was full of despair. To think that he had believed that the only person capable of helping him to expose the Priestess of the Moon would be the person responsible to his undoing. To think that the man he had placed his trusted in would be the one who betrayed him to his death.

"Correct. You have been chosen to be a sacrifice from the very beginning," said Kannazuki Aoi, who was now standing at the edge of the pond, her face unsmiling, her sword gleaming mercilessly in her hand.

"Are you going to kill me?" Tokiya asked his captor calmly.

"I am giving you a chance." The renegade Priestess ran her finger along the blunt edge of Kagetsuki, which Tokiya knew to possess more than thrice the powers of any of the Elemental Blades. "Take out your weapon. Defeat me and live."

Tokiya merely looked at the water in which he was half immersed, pondering whether he should summon Suikyou at all. _So that is why she dumped me in this pond, _he realized._ She meant to be fair and give me an edge. _He laughed again. He never thought that his enemy would be so generous to him while his alleged comrade saw him as no more than a sacrifice. The world was surely full of ironies.

"There is no point fighting a battle I cannot win, Priestess," he said after a while. "You may do whatever you wish now."

"Very well." She nodded.

"Will you answer a question before you end my life, though? I cannot rest in peace without knowing the truth."

"Ask," she said simply.

"How did you block Suikyou's mental invasion?"

"The very same way I monitored you and brought you here." The blue-haired girl's slender body began to rise into the air while her sword blazed with its blinding silver light. It was as though a second sun had emerged. "The very same way I did this."

Tokiya's eyes widened at the sight that was taking place before him. Then he began to laugh one last time as tears streamed down his cheeks. Moments before his death, he had finally found out the secret to the power of Ame no Hitomi, the Eyes of Heaven. _Against such powers, how are we supposed to survive in the first place, my Lord?_ he shouted in his head.

"It is a pity that I have to kill you, Third Head," Kannazuki Aoi's distant voice echoed around the woods, "for we are more alike than you could have imagined. This is goodbye."

_"Aneki!"_ was what he cried out at the top of his lungs before a powerful light enveloped him completely. A second later, he closed his eyes and peacefully departed from this cruel world.

* * *

Girochi Miyako's innards froze when she saw Suikyou the Water Blade materializing out of thin air. Time seemed to be in slow motion as her eyes followed the movement of the Sealed Sword, which plunged into the wooden floor of her room without raising much noise. Only one thing could have happened when an Elemental Blade appeared in this manner, she knew. Its master had to be dead. Trembling, Miyako reached for the sword and took it up into her arms. _This could not be happening!_ she thought, sensing tears spilling out uncontrollably from her eyes. _This could not be happening to me!_

_"Tokiya!"_ she cried. _"No!"_

* * *

Sitting in an armchair in his room, Tsubasa the First Head decided to deactivate the crystal ball in his hand before the Third Head's dying cry could escape into the room and eventually reach the wrong ear. He truly did not mean to be to be the first Orochi to be executed by his own comrade's hand. The Lord had never been merciful in the past. He doubted that the Dark God would show any when he learned that Tsubasa had just sacrificed an Orochi Head. For the good of the whole or not, what he had done was still a clear violation of the laws that the fabled eight-headed dragon had set forth in the beginning. 

With his vacant hand massaging his forehead, he sighed deeply. It was done. He should take this to the Lord now and informed him of everything that had happened. Of course, he had to modify this little ball a little bit, edit out some... unnecessary pieces of conversation what would make him look bad, and prepare a believable story first. He was confident he could do it, though. Oh, he should assemble the other Heads, too. The Lord could not ignore the evidence like he once did with the now deceased Third Head now that all of them were present to hear the truth.

Tsubasa stood up, walked to his door, and opened it. The first thing that he saw was the Eighth Head of the Orochi, whose black cape swathed her slender body, whose face was cold enough to do an ice cube proud. He almost gave a start. _How long has she been standing there?_ he thought in alarm. _And why?_

"You are not going anywhere, First Head," Saotome Makoto announced with a voice that matched the icy expression on her face. The girl was evidently furious the way her words were sharp enough to cut and the way her emerald eyes were blazing with a terrible light.

"I see." Tsubasa laughed. "You are the Priestess's creature, are you not?"

"Do not insult me." Her lips thinned into a straight line. "There is no one in this world whom I hate more than her."

"Then I cannot comprehend why you are blocking my way," he said calmly.

"Kannazuki Aoi shall die soon." The Eighth Head raised her palm, and he instinctively took a step backward. "But neither here or now, First Head. I mean someone else to kill her."

"Kurusugawa Himeko?"

"Correct." Makoto answered. "Unless Himeko takes the Moon Priestess's life with her own hand, she will never forget the love she has for Himemiya Chikane. I can't allow that to happen."

"Nice speech, traitor," Tsubasa mocked.

"Say all you want." The Orochi Eighth Head only smiled darkly in response. If she was offended, she hid it well. "It's not like you have any time left anyway."

"If you think you can kill me quietly in the Temple, you are more of a fool than I thought." He laughed. It was the truth. Although it was clear that he could not win against her in single combat, it was impossible to finish him without announcing to the Lord and every other Head that treason was taking place. She would have more luck trying to catch the moon in the water with her bare hands.

"Whoever said that I would be the one to kill you?" Makoto shook her head.

"What?" He frowned.

"Goodbye. May you _not_ rest in peace."

Before Tsubasa managed to summon his Hokuto the Star Blade, a column of shadow sprang up from beneath his feet and swallowed him whole. In a blink of an eye, when the pitch darkness had dissipated, Tsubasa reappeared in an empty glade surrounded by trees that were dominated by the tiled roofs of Shingetsu Grand Shrine in the distance. He blinked. There was a large pond several feet away from him, upon the surface of which a corpse floated, its front facing the cerulean sky. It was a man whose clothes were blackened and tattered as though struck by lightning. It was the man whom Tsubasa betrayed to his death. It was the Third Head, Girochi Tokiya. Chills ran down Tsubasa's spine.

"Would you not mourn for your comrade's passing, First Head?" Kannazuki Aoi's voice said from everywhere and all at once. Startled, he turned around and looked. The girl was nowhere in sight. "Would you not say something to the one you murdered?"

"I murdered him?" he scoffed. Hokuto appeared in his hand after a flash of light. "Look who's talking."

"If not you, then who?" answered the voice of the Priestess of the Moon, which was followed by her melodious laughter. "Poor Tokiya. Since he knew his attempts to delve into my consciousness could not escape my attention, he came to you for help. He thought you would save his life, for you are the respectable Commander of the Orochi Heads. You, surprisingly, were so kind and gentle the way you assured him that he would live and that you would protect him for Miyako's sake. You gave him the locator. You told him that should you ever receive his signal, you would bring reinforcements right away. Little did he know that you have turned him into shark bait."

Tsubasa struck the very second he sensed someone passing behind him. The searing light extended from his blade sliced through a dozen of trees and made them fall onto the ground in thunderous noises. The fact that the presence of the Priestess of the Moon still lingered in his head informed him that he had not managed to hit his intended target.

"You noticed that you could _use_ the Third Head," Kannazuki Aoi's voice said teasingly. "What is better to get rid of me than his dying voice, screaming the name of his killer? Should the Dark God hear it along with his Followers, I will be wishing that I were already dead, do you not think so?"

Tsubasa struck again. The ground exploded in chains, hurling rocks and dirt everywhere, To his dismay, none of them touched even the shadow of the Priestess.

"My hat is off to you, First Head." Tsubasa froze in shock the moment he felt her warm breath touching the nape of his neck. The girl was standing right behind him, he realized in horror. "You are awfully conniving and ruthless, sacrificing your own comrade so. And by the way, I believe I speak for Girochi Tokiya when I say that you deserve a slow and painful death." Searing pain seized him as a shaft of silver light ran him through from behind. Unable to say a single word, he fell and hit his face on the ground so hard that blood spurted out from his nose.

"The next time you are born, First Head, be someone less repulsive." The Priestess's mirthless laughter and her words gradually faded into silence. Her presence in his mind disappeared.

Blood from the hole in his chest began to puddle up around him, flowing into his mouth and soaking his clothes. The Priestess had definitely kept her words when she said it would be a slow and painful death, he realized.

All of a sudden, the water of the pond sparkled as though there was a sun beneath the surface. Not from the daylight, he was sure, unless the sun had become a light bulb that changed color every second. When he lifted his head to see, he found his jaw dropping in shock. An inch above the water surface floated a beautiful girl in a white cape the high and stiff collar of which was adorned with a crystal brooch on either side. She was not from the Human World, he was sure, for no mortal had so many angelic wings on her back, each of them glowing in a different light. He tried to count them. He stopped when he realized that his sight was failing him.

"Do not fear, Child of the Orochi," she said in a voice that could easily match that of the Priestess in term of coldness. "Even in death, you will serve your Master still." She stretched one hand toward Tsubasa and spread her fingers widely. They became ablaze.

"You..." Tsubasa managed weakly "Who are you...?"

"My name is Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne," the girl whispered. "But some call me the Seraphim Blade."

The last thing he saw was a flash of light that emerged from her hand. When it touched him, it immediately shattered his consciousness and snuffed out the flame that was his existence.

* * *

Yui the Goddess of the Sun, sitting on a high ledge protruding from one of the rock walls in the Enshrinement Chamber of Shingetsu, watched in silence as Kurusugawa Himeko stepped down the flight of stairs. The girl was wearing the white chihaya and blue hibakama that Himemiya Chikane left behind, face so determined that the scaredy cat impression Yui always had about her was now only a mere distant illusion. She smiled and thought, _A very good attitude_ The Priestess of the Sun had gained conviction and was now primed for the battle of her life. Yui was very pleased. 

"Are you ready, Kurusugawa-san?" inquired Oogami Kazuki, the High Priest of Shingetsu who was accompanied by another Priest, a man who was gray in the hair and long in the teeth yet still moved like a man thirty years younger. Just like Yui, the middle-aged man sounded pleased. Not that she could blame him for feeling that way, though. His plan was going well. The man had to be thinking that it was but a matter of time until he achieved that which he wanted most. Only that _nothing_ would go as planned, of course. Yui would love to see his face when he found that out.

"I am, sensei," Himeko answered, her voice mirroring her firm expression.

"Very well." Oogami nodded. "Then before we begin, there is something I must give you."

He clapped his hands. The Priest on his left then stepped forward, both hands holding a small tray upon which two scrolls of silk were laid. From the way the man gazed at the scrolls with so much reverence in his eyes, one would have sworn they were hand-written by the Gods. His superior, on the other hand, obviously, thought differently as he casually picked up the scroll on the left and handed it to the Priestess of the Sun.

"This is the secret manuscript that has been passed down generation after generation in the Oogami Clan," the man announced in a solemn voice. "Inside lies what is meant only for the eyes of the Kannazuki Priestesses."

The golden-haired girl then rolled out the secret manuscript and began to read. Almost in no time, her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open in surprise. Yui smiled. She was well aware of what kind of knowledge was put inside that scroll, for she was there when the researchers in Izumo's R&D Division wrote it. It was simply a concise user manual of the Eyes of Heaven that told the Priestesses all they needed to know about their weapons before they launched an attack on the Orochi forces. Yui didn't really what the golden-haired girl thinking in her pretty head... but she herself had been enraged when she first found out the true reason for which the Eyes was forged. It had taken all her willpower to stop herself from murdering those vicious researchers during that meeting.

After a few minutes, the young Priestess of the Sun scrolled up the manuscript and put it back on the tray. The High Priest then picked up the other scroll and handed to her. "And this is the Chronicles of the Swords, which contains all the information that mankind has gathered on the Elemental Blades," he said, then added in a serious tone, "You should pay extra attention to the last entry, for I believe it's vital in dealing with the Swords. Had it not been for Souma, we would have never known what _it_ could do."

Slightly puzzled by that the man had told her, the golden-haired girl began to peruse the Chronicles. When she reached its final entry, tears suddenly spilled out from her eyes as her body trembled. She had had to bite on her underlip to stop a sob from escaping.

"What is the matter, Kurusugawa-san?" asked the High Priest, surprised.

"Nothing, sensei," answered the Priestess, who was dabbing the sleeves of her white chihaya at her face. Even though they were moist, her amethyst eyes were shining with joy. Even though it was shaking slightly, her voice was filled with relief. "I'm okay." Yui, still sitting on the stone ledge, smiled. Of course the girl was okay, for those were tears that were shed in utmost happiness. In the beginning, when little Himeko first returned to Shingetsu after a couple of hours missing, she had not a single clue as to what she could do to save what she called her world. Now, at long last, she had found a way.

"If you say so," said Oogami Kazuki, his voice full of suspicions. Yui chuckled quietly. If the man could read Himeko's mind, he would be roaring at her in fury, no doubt.

"What do I have to do now, sensei?" the golden-haired asked after she had put the Chronicle back on the tray.

"You will do exactly what the Priestess of the Moon did to remove the Eye of Luna from the Shinken Seals," the High Priest declared. "You should be aware that in theory, the Unsealing Ritual that you two had been performing is the only way to free the swords. The reason why Kannazuki Aoi," he flashed the girl a look to ensure that she wasn't going to correct him. From the tightening of her mouth's corners, she clearly had intended to. The middle-aged man grimaced and picked up smoothly where he left off, "succeeded in retrieving Kagetsuki is because of a loophole that I never knew existed."

"A loop hole?" Himeko blinked at the current leader of the Oogami Clan, confused.

"Yes." He nodded. "The Shinken Seals are designed to keep you from _taking_ the Eyes of Heaven. As such, they can do little to prevent the swords from _coming_ to you. Fully aware of this fact, the Original Priestess of the Moon immediately took advantage of it."

"I still can't see how she exploited it, sensei," little Himeko said. "You told us once that the Shinken had detrimentally effects on the Eyes. You even used them to stop Chikane-chan from taking Sou-chan's life." She never faltered even when Oogami Kazuki narrowed his eyes at her for refusing to address the Priestess of the Moon with what he had been trying to make her. Yui thought the man should just give up. The golden-haired girl never believed for even a split second that Himemiya Chikane was dead. It was a waste of time and effort trying to convince her otherwise.

"What I told you was that the Seals diminished and restrained the Eyes," explained the middle-aged man, who sounded a little bit more than just exasperated. "I never claimed that the Seals could stop them completely. That's the key detail, Kurusugawa-san. Kannazuki Aoi, having invoked her transcending powers, had _called_ Kagetsuki out to her instead of bypassing the Shinken and taking it."

"You think I can do the same with the remaining Eye of Heaven?" Himeko asked, sounding almost excited.

"Yes, you can," Oogami agreed, then sighed and added, "However, I daresay that you will encounter twice the resistance that Kannazuki Aoi did."

"Why?"

"Because without the Eye of Luna in there, all the powers of the Shinken Seals are now focused on the remaining sword," the High Priest answered. "It's going to be very tough for you."

"I don't care how tough it'll be," little Himeko said, determination shining once more in her amethyst eyes. "I will take the Eye of Heaven out."

"That's the spirit." The man nodded in approval. "Well then. I will take my leave, Kurusugawa-san."

"You're not staying?"

"I only wish I could." He shook his head. "Serious matters require my immediate attention, you see. The first thing I need to do is to devise a plan to defend the Grand Shrine from the Orochi. They're going to attack very soon. I'm certain." He gave the golden-haired girl a look. "I don't mean to pressure, Kurusugawa-san, but our hope is with you. If you should fail..." His hopeless expression conveyed the rest of the message.

"I understand." The Priestess of the Sun offered the High Priest a deep bow as he and his subordinate departed from the Enshrinement Chamber.

As soon as the men's footsteps had faded into the distance, she spun on her heel and faced the remaining five columns of light that housed the Shinken Swords. In the heart of the circle that they formed was the eternal ice pillar that had a brilliant sphere of golden light at its middle. In it was the object she sought. In it was the instrument that she was going to use to achieve her final wish, Yui knew. Up high on her stone ledge, she watched as the Priestess of the Sun summoned up every ounce of powers inside her body. Golden light rolled out from her in successive waves and washed upon the Shinken, which responded by ringing out in a deadly melody with their sacred lightning providing the beat.

Leaning her back against the rocky wall, Yui decided to watch for the time being. If little Himeko required it, she would lend her a hand to break the gears of destiny and pulled down the curtain to end the tragedy that had been going on for the last three thousand years.

* * *

Tsukazaki Fuyura, swathed in a white cloak with a deep hood that hid her entire face, found herself muttering under her breath when her companion, Kami no Mikoto of the Three Arbiters, threw yet another seductive glance at her over her shoulder while walking along the spacious hallways of the Heavenly Palace. The woman had never stopped making advances on Fuyura since the moment they first met despite being met with indifference. Fuyura was fairly certain that the woman thought that if she threw enough glances, Fuyura would agree to be her lover. Shame was one thing amongst many that Kami no Mikoto did not have. Five minutes after they were introduced to each other, courtesy of Ame no Minaka, another lecherous man who refused to act his age, the woman had made it clear to Fuyura in a secretive, roundabout way that she did not intend to let her go without bedding her first. 

_Lay your filthy paws on me and you will lose them forever, Kami no Mikoto,_ she thought.

"We have arrived, Tsukazaki-dono," said the Arbiter, who had stopped in front of a room that was guarded by two Holy Messengers in white capes. The men, Fuyura had heard that there was not a single woman employed by the Division because Izanagi feared that his employees would be distracted, seemed to be carved from stone the way they simply gazed ahead and pretended that no others existed.

"Very well," Fuyura muttered, barely able to keep the irritation from showing in her voice. "Get me inside."

"As you wish." Kami no Mikoto gave an incline of her head then spoiled it by flashing a lewd smile at Fuyura before she turned to face the Holy Messengers. Her visage hardened and her eyes grew cold as she drew herself up just so she could look the men in the face. The woman, despite being rather short, was obviously trying to impress Fuyura. It did not work.

"Stand aside," the shameless Arbiter demanded. "I, Kami no Mikoto of the Arbiters, wish to speak with the Goddess of the Moon." She put the back of her right hand in front of the Messengers and let them see that on her middle finger was a gold signet ring that bore the shield and the sword insignia of the Celestial Assembly. "Listen and obey."

"As you command, Arbiter," replied the men in unison, their voices betraying the surprise and the fear that they were feeling inside. With great alacrity, they opened the shoji doors to reveal a chamber completely immersed in darkness. Afterwards, they quietly stood on either side of the entrance in a way that reminded Fuyura of people who caused mischief and were caught red-handed. It would appear to her that somehow, they feared the Arbiter more than they would their liege lord.

"Please take your time, Tsukazaki-dono," Kami no Mikoto whispered into Fuyura's ear. From the way the woman slowly drew her face very slowly away afterwards, Fuyura was under the impression that had she not been glaring at the Arbiter coldly, she would have been kissed. Her mouth tightened at the thought. According to the information that the I.S.R. agents had gathered on the Three Arbiters, Kami no Mikoto had already had a secret lover who worshipped her like a mortal would a Goddess. The reason why the woman kept hitting on Fuyura despite that fact was beyond her.

"Very well," Fuyura answered curtly and proceeded into the dark chamber, faintly hearing the Arbiter commanding the two Messengers to report to the Sanctum Core without delay. But of course, she thought, they cannot let this reach Izanagi's ears. When the two guards returned to this room, they would have already _forgotten_ that someone had come to speak with the Goddess of the Moon. _The Lord of Izumo would choke himself to death the moment he discovered what his subordinates had been using his precious Core for,_ she thought and chuckled before a movement of her hand closed the shoji doors behind her and once again drowned the chamber in pitch darkness. Another gesture formed a small sphere of light that brought illumination to the furthest corners. Near one of them there was a bed, atop which lay the Goddess of the Moon. Tsukiyomi, who was praised as the second most beautiful woman in the Three Worlds, was on her stomach with the side of her face pressed against the mattress and with her hands clutching the bed linen. Her silver eyes were swollen, her cheeks wet. If Tsukiyomi had not been crying continuously during the last twenty-four hours, Fuyura would leave immediately and tell Kami no Mikoto that she loved her.

"Who may you be?" the Moon Goddess asked in a voice that was weak and devoid of any sign of emotion. The only things that seemed to move on her body were her mouth and her eyelids.

"I am Tsukazaki Fuyura, Tsukiyomi-sama." She gave a deep bow with her hand on her heart. "We have met before in Onogoro."

"One of... the twins?" The young woman's eyes widened a fraction in surprise. "You are... a Chancellor to my mother?"

"Yes." She nodded.

Tsukiyomi kept silent for a full minute, perhaps to process the information that a high officer of the Underworld was currently in the Holy City, where any resident of Reiha was viewed as a foe, before she spoke up, "How is your sister?" From the absolute lack of concern in the question, Fuyura could only assume that the Moon Goddess was only trying to be polite.

"Haruhi is well," she answered.

Another pause came before the silver-haired woman opened her mouth once more, "It is unusual that I do not find her by your side. I thought you two were inseparable." At the end of the sentence, she struggled to sit up straight and lean her back against the headboard. Not that her facial expression changed a hair afterwards, though. She still seemed as lifeless as the first moment Fuyura had laid eyes on her.

_The woman never changes,_ Fuyura thought.

Although the Goddess of the Moon never remembered, she had met the Chancellors three thousand years ago, when she was brought to Reiha against her will. Confined in her room, she had spent her days weeping nonstop and refused to consume even a drop of water. In the end, she broke down and became so sick that the Regent was afraid that she was going to die. Right now, the silver-haired woman looked exactly the same as she did back then.

"Hardly," Fuyura said. "Contrary to what people choose to believe, I often spend my time without Haruhi."

"Why?" The Goddess of the Moon suddenly turned her face toward the closed windows. "I do not think I would feel comfortable without the one with whom I spent my childhood next to me. I would be very lonely and sad then. Do you not find that you would miss her face, her laughter, her touch terribly when she is away?" Her voice grew distant with every word she said.

Fuyura caught herself blinking in surprise at the other woman. She had not expected Tsukiyomi, who was rumored to be made from eternal ice, to say such things. She knew whom the Goddess was referring to, though. It was truly tragic that even though she and the Goddess of the Sun loved each other dearly, their feelings were never gotten across.

"Not quite," she said. "Although I do love Haruhi, I cannot deny that she is too much of a control freak at times. Plus, I resent the fact that she thought I could not survive a day without she watching my every step."

"Is that so?" Tsukiyomi let out a chuckle that sounded more like a cough.

"Besides, she has her own problems to deal with," Fuyura continued. "Having more than one boyfriend at a time is quite tiring, I assure you." Unlike Kami no Mikoto, Tsukazaki Haruhi never had to flirt. Men just came to her, knelt at her feet, and begged to be her lover. She never turned anyone down, for the record, but she dumped them the following day more often than not. In a way, she was much worse than the Arbiter. Fuyura had been at least half-serious when she told Amaterasu that she wanted her to introduce Susanou no Mikoto to the other Chancellor of the Underworld.

"Were I you, I would be quite jealous," Tsukiyomi commented.

"Well, _I_ would not," she replied flatly. "Much as I pity those men whom Haruhi twiddled around her fingers, I am grateful to them for getting her out of my hair and giving me more time to spend with Izanami-sama..." She clamped her mouth shut in horror the moment she realized what she had just blurted out.

Awkward silence ensued, with she and the Goddess of the Moon staring unblinkingly at each other, she in embarrassment, the latter in surprise. After a while, she dropped her gaze and felt as though flames were raging on her cheeks. It was one thing to fall in love with her employer, a woman who did not seem to have any interest in her except being her friend, and quite another to inadvertently admitted it to that woman's daughter.

"How old are you, Tsukazaki Fuyura?" Tsukiyomi asked quietly.

"I have been with the Lady since the beginning of the Reiha," Fuyura said coolly. "Old enough not to embarrass her, if that is what you are implying." Although the Goddess of the Sun liked to act as though Fuyura and her sister were younger than her, just like she did with pretty much everybody else, they were actually a whole lot older. The only reason why they let Amaterasu continue doing that was because they thought that it was amusing and rather cute.

"Does my mother know that you have a crush on her?"

"She does," Fuyura muttered. "She said she really liked me, just not enough to take me as a lover." There were times when she wondered why all the strawberry cheesecakes she had bought for the Regent of the Underworld – her lack of talent in the culinary area did not allow her to make them with her own hands – had yet to help her win over the older woman's heart.

"I am sorry to hear that."

"Do not be." She gestured her hand dismissively. "I will manage to turn her around soon." Or so she hoped she could. Her insistence and her eternal time were the only advantages that she had.

Silence once again hung between them and continued to for a few minutes before the Goddess of the Moon opened her mouth and spoke, "And if I may ask, to whom do I owe your visit tonight?"

"Today," Fuyura corrected. It was noon outside. "I came to Izumo on Izanami-sama's order. She wished to let you know about the situation regarding your daughters. She knows you are very worried about them." Although this information could have been passed onto either Susanou no Mikoto or Kagutsuchi, the Regent had decided that it was best for Fuyura to inform the Goddess of the Moon in person. She did have to come to Izumo to speak with the Celestial Assembly, in any case.

"You... would tell me?" Life returned to the silver-haired woman as she hastily scrambled to her feet and ran to Fuyura's side. Her eyes, which had become moist again, were shining with gratitude. "Thank you... Thank you..."

"You are very welcome." Fuyura nodded and began to tell the other woman about what had been happening in the human world.

* * *

Once Kannazuki Aoi had stepped inside her room, which she built herself in the back garden of the Temple of the Dragons, she settled down on a high-backed cushioned armchair and began to massage her foreheads. It had been a tiring day. She deserved some rest, she decided. Leaning her back against the chair, she closed her eyes and waited for sleep to come and take her. Eventually, it did. 

_"I wish you a safe journey, Tsukiyomi-sama," said Kannazuki Aoi, who bowed respectfully where she stood while her motherly mentor wove a Dimensional Portal that would lead her to Izumo. Aoi really felt sorry for the Goddess of the Moon, who had received an urgent summons from the Ruler of Heaven and was forced to return to the Holy City even in the dead of night. _What is wrong with the man anyway?_ she thought in bitterness. Although her surrogate mother had isolated herself from the Heavenly World, Izanagi never intended to leave her alone. He should be ashamed of himself the way he kept harassing a woman who did not want her attention, especially after delivering her a nasty surprise on her daughters' birthday last month. It was _some_ present, that. "The Lunar Shrine shall anxiously await your return." _

_"Thank you, child." Tsukiyomi-sama smiled and patted Aoi fondly on the head exactly the way someone would her two-year-old daughter. _

_Despite her love and fervent admiration for the silver-haired Goddess, Aoi wished the Goddess of the Moon would _just_ stop doing that. In contrary to what her mentor might believe, Aoi was already seventeen years of age and no longer a kid. Although it was true that she acted nothing like an adult she claimed to be once every so often, mostly when her childhood friend the Priestess of the Sun was involved, she deserved to be treated as one. All the babying should be left for _little Akari_, who did not seem to have grown up the way she remained innocent and childlike all these years. Aoi smiled softly to herself at the thought. She was such a hypocrite the way she balked at being treated like a child while she was doing exactly the same thing to the one she cherished. _

_"A wonderful mood you are in, Aoi." The Goddess of the Moon gave her an amused and curious glance. "Has it anything to do with my departure?" _

_"Of course not!" Aoi immediately schooled her face and started to berate herself silently for having no control over herself whenever she thought about her childhood friend. She had better learn to soon, or one day she was going to drop her and Akari both into boiling soup. "I was... um... thinking of a... a joke." She only hoped that she had not said it too quickly. _

_"A joke? Brilliant." The Goddess was wearing a quiet and knowing smile as her silver eyes locked with Aoi's sapphire. "You know how those meetings are. Would you not tell it to me so I can find some solace before those Immortals bore me to death?" There was too much amusement in her voice for her comfort. She suspected that she would feel a whole lot better if her motherly mentor just declared right out that she knew Aoi was lying. _

_"I doubt you would find it funny, Tsukiyomi-sama," Aoi insisted. "It is quite silly, in fact." _

_"If you say so, child." The Goddess of the Moon withdrew her piercing gaze. The I-know-all-about-it smile never faded from her lips, though. _

_Aoi almost heaved a sigh of relief afterwards. She was not a skilled liar. Were she to continue, she would end up inventing stuffs that even a fool would scoff at rather than believe. When she looked at her mentor again, she saw that the Goddess was gathering her hagoromo robe about her person as she stepped through the silvery surface of the Dimensional Portal. Before the rest of her body followed, though, she gave Aoi one last meaningful glance and said, "Do not tire Akari out too much." The Portal winked out of existence. _

_Alone in her mentor's study, Aoi could only stand where she did before the Goddess left and feel dumb-founded. Although being vaguely aware that she was the subject of a joke this time, she failed to understand its meaning. Besides, she had not expected to hear one from Tsukiyomi-sama, who always frowned at her in a disapproving manner whenever she caught her teasing the Sun Priestess. The Goddess of the Moon had made it clear to Aoi on numerous occasions that since such behaviors reminded her of someone she did not wish to think of, Aoi should just stop. Needless to say, she never did. In the end, Tsukiyomi-sama was so tired of saying the same thing over and over again that she stopped doing that altogether. Little Akari had been most displeased at her mentor's failure in putting Aoi in her place. _

_Still puzzled, Aoi walked out of the study and headed straight toward her childhood friend's room. Her whole body grew lighter with every step she took. Her heart beat faster every time the little angel's face popped up in her mind. Her mouth could have possessed a will of its own the way it curved upward into a broad smile without her meaning it to. By the time she arrived at her destination, Aoi almost floated in the air while her chest was aching from the racing pulses. _It had been too long, Akari,_ she thought. However, her smile was wiped off her face the moment her eyes fell on the door to the room, which was left open. _

_Aoi grimaced. It was quite disturbing to know that they were open, like usual, because Akari never remembered to keep them shut. The little angel's carelessness had been what fanned the flame of disaster feeding on her innate and incurable clumsiness. Half of the times that the golden-haired girl fell flat on her face were because she tripped on the hem of her own hibakama, for goodness's sake. _

_Aoi sighed. It was indeed a fortunate thing that Akari lived on the Moon, where no harms could befall her and where she had Aoi watching her back. _Had it been Onogoro..._ She shuddered at the thought. A thief would empty the house of her beloved without her noticing him whether she was inside the whole time or not, if he did not manage to slit her throat first. _

_"I am coming in, Akari." Aoi stuck her head in after a few unanswered calls. _

_The Priestess of the Sun was nowhere in sight in the spacious yet simple room furnished with only a kotatsu table and a screen for changing clothes. In a corner, her futon lay neatly folded, her white yukata still hung across the lonely screen that stood atop the empty tatami floor. _

Strange,_ Aoi thought. The hour was late. Normally around this time of the night, her childhood friend would ready to go to bed so that she could wake up early the next morning for their daily training sessions. _Then where is she?

_As soon as she stepped inside, her nose immediately caught the scent of the golden-haired girl, which was suffusing the air she breathed and invading every corner of her lungs. It was too faint to be noticed by any other person, yet to Aoi, who had held her childhood friend and sweetheart in her arms anytime she could, it was little less obvious than holding a bouquet right under her nose. The Priestess of the Sun, regardless of the time of day, always smelled as though she just stepped out from the bath, fresh, crisply fragrant, and mysteriously mesmerizing. Truth be told, Aoi might as well have gulped down a glassful of wine every time she hugged the girl, or was hugged. And when Akari kissed her, she could barely keep herself from going crazy. _

_Upon reaching the center of the room, she noticed that the second shoji door, which stood behind the changing screen, was also open, revealing a stone-paved path that lead to the back garden of the Lunar Shrine. Knowing that her sweetheart could be no where else, she crossed the tatami floor and treaded on that path while wondering what the Priestess of the Sun was doing in the garden when she should be sleeping in bed. The answer to that question left her mouth hanging and her heart racing at the speed of light. _

_In silence and in the awe that had her spellbound, Aoi stood like a lamp post near a small stone-paved square that was surrounded on all sides by a great field of golden lilies that the Priestess of the Sun had planted with her own hand during the last ten years of her life. They were the breed of flower that could be found nowhere else in the Three Worlds, for they were created in the laboratories of Izumo's R&D Division. Although the researchers scared Aoi silly every time they looked at her, she had to give credit when credit was due. Those Immortals in white robes and glasses had made her childhood friend very happy when they gave her the seeds of the golden lilies. The petals of those flowers, glittering in sunlight like the precious metal yet smooth as silk under one's touch, never withered and never died as they bloomed year-round, out of time and unrestricted by the revolving seasons. Yet, wonderful they might be, right now they appeared but insignificant compared to the breathtaking scenery that was happening in their midst. Upon the small square at the end of the walkway danced Aoi's beautiful counterpart, the Priestess of the Sun. _

_Speechless, Aoi was unable to even think of a word fit to describe what she saw. _"Elegant"_ failed to portray the steps with which Akari flowed. _"Stunning"_ would have run itself to death before ever come close to the meticulous movements the little angel performed, let alone catch up. The last time they visited the Holy City, Aoi had had the chance to lay eyes upon Heaven's most talented dancers, who were able to steal the breath of audiences as though taking things from their own pockets. Yet for all the grace those Goddesses possessed, for all the impressive stunts they pulled, they were but children wiggling their hands and feet beside Aoi's sweetheart. It was rather ironic that Akari could do such a thing when a few days ago she nearly stabbed herself in the foot during sword practice. Aoi smiled. _

_Aoi continued to watch her childhood friend glide back and forth across the stone-paved square. Her eyes were glued to the little angel's slender figure. Her heart leapt every time Akari's gorgeous body made a graceful turn. Her amazement, as well as her puzzlement, grew as she noticed a string of golden light that extended from each of the other girl's fingers and rose upward into the night sky. As Aoi's eyes traced the path of those strings, she found out that they were merging into an almost complete kimono. It was then did she realize that her childhood friend was not dancing. The girl was weaving a dress with the golden strings made from her own power. Her flowing movements, in fact, were what put the strings into place. _

_Thinking to herself that the little angel could just do this with a needle and normal threads, she held her hand over her mouth and laughed softly enough not to be heard. Her laughter died, her face heated up, and her throat ran dry, however, the moment she caught sight of four Kanji characters on the breast of the kimono. Surrounded by patterns of moons and stars and hollyhock flowers, the character spelled Kannazuki Aoi, which was her full name. _She made it for me!_ she thought, feeling her blood turning into wine. A look at the little angel's face confirmed her suspicion. Kannazuki Akari, her feet flowing from one stance to another while her fingers continued to release the golden strings, was looking at her unfinished kimono with the same expression that she always had before she placed a kiss on Aoi's lips. _

_Feeling dizzy as she was, Aoi was still able to notice that something wrong was happening. A quick scan of the vicinity told her that _"something"_ was the Priestess of the Sun's powers breaking loose. The little angel never noticed that golden light was rolling off of her in waves and filling the atmosphere of the Moon with illumination and heat. The stars in the heavens were quickly erased from sight. The night vanished. The air became violent as the winds, sharp and cold, rose to form a fierce current howling around Aoi's sweetheart. When a gust of chilling air swept across her face and made her feel as though she had just been cut, she let out a small cry before she could stop herself. _

_That cry reached the Priestess of the Sun. _

_Noticing Aoi's presence, the golden-haired girl stopped dead in her track while shock and embarrassment dyed her face with the color of a sunset before they proceeded to destroy the frail reins that she had placed on her powers, consequently setting them free. It was in that moment that disaster decided to strike. The winds, no longer having anything to hold them back, exploded into a powerful hurricane that caught the little angel in its clutches and hurled her into the sky. _

"Akari!" _Aoi shouted in horror at the same time that she swung her right arm in a wide arc. A silver shaft of light emerged from inside her wide sleeve, sliced cleanly though the hurricane, and neutralized the currents in its wake. As the air grew calm once more, Aoi's little angel, whose body was wrapped in a large cloth of silver light that Aoi had woven and cast shortly after she cut through the winds, descended safely onto her arms. With that, coherent thoughts took wings and fled her mind altogether. She would be very surprised if they did not. After all, in her embrace was a girl with a body so light and soft that she would shame the best cushion in the world, with a face so beautiful she would make a flower wither with envy, and with a fragrance that smelled so good no perfume could ever hope to best. Aoi only wished that she could hold her childhood friend forever. _

_"Put me down, would you?" Akari mumbled almost half-heartedly after a while. Aoi did not think she meant it. _

_"So you can run away?" she said firmly, or as much so as she could manage. Heaven standing witness, it was excruciatingly difficult to scold her sweetheart when the girl was looking at her with an adorably shy yet sullen expression on her still reddening face. "I think not, young lady." _

_"Don't take that tone with me. You're my childhood friend," the golden-haired girl muttered, "not my mother, you know." The face of the Sun Priestess was flashing with indignation, her lowered eyebrows demanding complete deference, but the gleam in her amethyst eyes and the caressing quality of her voice belied the sting in her words. _

_"Still!" Aoi insisted. Was it the sound of laughter she heard in her own voice? More like a whimper, she decided. "How many times have I told you to always keep your powers in check? Heaven forbid, you could have broken your neck and killed yourself!" _

_"That's your fault!" the little angel declared stubbornly. "Nothing would have happened had you not barged in here uninvited." _

_"You are being unreasonable." Aoi sighed. "And by the way, who is it that never has the decency to knock or call before entering other people's room, hmm?" Her cheeks burned. The last time that happened, her childhood friend had walked in on her while she was stepping out of the bath, naked as the moment she was born. Days had passed before they could look each other in the eye and talk without blushing bright red. _

_"Well, excuse me!" The little angel turned her head to the other side and pouted. _

_"If that is how you show gratitude to someone who saved your life, Akari," Aoi sighed again, feigning anger, "then so be it." She put the other girl back on her feet and walked back toward the room. _

_"No!" was all that her beloved childhood friend could say before she panicked and hurried after her. "Please don't go, Ao-chan!" Akari threw her arms around Aoi's waist and hugged her tightly upon catching up. "I'm sorry!" The golden-haired girl was so afraid that she ended up quivering against Aoi's back. She froze a heartbeat later, however, when she felt Aoi shake in uncontrollable fits of hilarity. Before her sweetheart could untie her arms from around her, though, Aoi spun on her heel and pulled the girl into an intimate embrace. She only held more tightly when the beautiful girl in her arm struggled almost fiercely to set herself free. After a few minutes of getting nowhere, she gave up. _

_"People would be _terrified_ to know that their honorable Priestess of the Sun is this much of a dummy, Akari." Aoi laughed. "Come on, you fell for it every single time!" Her sweetheart was so gullible that she would probably be fooled by the same trick even in her next life. _

_ "You_..._" Akari looked up at her, seemingly torn between giving Aoi a good slap and bursting out crying. "You've changed. What has happened to the kind Ao-chan I knew when we were kids? Why is it that you keep picking on me now?" The golden-haired girl shook her magnificent head in exasperation. _

_"You were the one who changed first, Akari," Aoi declared in a serious tone. _

_"Not true!" the little angel protested. _

_"Have you forgotten how we were back then?" She placed a soft but lingering kiss on the other girl's forehead while her hands gently caressed her sweetheart's cheeks. "You followed me closely as my shadow and always held onto my sleeve so that I would not leave you by yourself." Aoi grinned at the little angel's beet-red complexion then added, "You really did not have to do that, though. How am I supposed to take my eyes off of you for one split second when you were so cute?" Her voice firmed. "Yet, you became more distant, more reserved as you grew up. You would not sit next to me, give me fond looks, or touch my hand like you once used to. Why, you acted as if I carried infectious diseases! " _

_"I... was just... nervous around you, dummy," the Priestess of the Sun mumbled against her chest while her body grew so hot that Aoi was under the impression that she was holding a burning log in her arms. "I couldn't really help it. Look at how attractive and cool you've become..." Her voice faltered, and Aoi's heart skipped a beat. _

_"Had you said so from the beginning, I would never have tried to catch your attention that way, Akari," Aoi said with a smile. _

_"Then why didn't you stop your teasing when you _had_ it?" Akari said, her voice bristling with irritation. "Why did you only try harder _after_ learning how I felt about you?" _

_"Because it was too late." She laughed softly. "Because you have shown me that your angry face and your annoyed expression were as beautiful as your smile." _

_"Your smooth-talking isn't going to help this time, O Priestess of the Moon," the little angel declared. "And I am seriously angry, so let go of me now." She hardly sounded what she claimed to be the way she kept blushing and lowered her eyes every time she looked up and saw that Aoi was grinning at her. _

_"Not a chance." She gave the other girl's glorious stream of golden hair, tied at the nape of her neck just like Aoi's own, a playful tug and tightened her arms around her childhood friend's waist. "I knew from way back that you can never stay upset so long as I continue to hold you close. Why do you think I _always_ hugged you _afterward_?" _

_"Because you're a lech." Akari sighed and rested her head on Aoi's shoulder, appearing to have discovered that it would take more than a strong Immortal to peel Aoi off. The little angel's arms, originally at her side, now wrapped around Aoi's back. "The worst ever lives," the girl murmured against her neck before snuggling a little bit closer into her embrace. The Priestess of the Sun's temper might have never existed. "But also a lech I can't stay away from. Sometimes it makes me wonder whether growing up with you is a blessing or a curse..." _

_"A blessing on my part, a curse on yours," Aoi replied jokingly. _

_"Perhaps." _

_"Ne, Akari?" she whispered after a moment of comfortable silence, her whole body tingling from the warmth emanating from her sweetheart's tender and fragrant frame, her hand running up and down her childhood friend's slender back, her lips planting soft kisses on the Priestess of the Sun's magnificent head. _

_"Hmm?" Akari sounded as though she was going to fall asleep right then and there. Staying up beyond her normal bedtime had begun to its toll, evidently. _

_"What is this?" Aoi lifted a hand to gesture at the unfinished kimono, seemingly made from sunlight itself, that had fallen on the field of golden lilies and been lying since the hurricane snatched its weaver into the air. The dress immediately rose upward and flew into her grasp. It was only then did she realize how unbelievably smooth and beautiful the fabric was. _

_"Well... um... it's... your birthday present..." the little angel mumbled, her hands tightening around the clothes on Aoi's back. "I know it has passed already... but I couldn't finish on time and give it to you. I'm sorry." Those words, sincere and rueful, suddenly reminded Aoi that on her birthday, her childhood friend never gave her anything like she always did. Although she was slightly saddened, she quickly forgot about it the moment they arrived in Izumo and were informed of their true duty in the war against the Dark God. _

_"I care not how late it is, Akari," she whispered into her sweetheart's ear, took the girl's hand into hers, and rubbed it gently against her own cheek. It was very warm. "Your thought is all that matters to me. So thank you." She kissed each of the fingertips. The Priestess of the Sun immediately blushed like the setting sun. When she withdrew her hand, she held it against her lips for a few seconds before she returned it to Aoi's back. _

_"Then I'm glad," she murmured afterwards, sounding quite happy. _

_"Where do you learn to weave in such away, though?" Aoi asked. "I do not think even Tsukiyomi-sama knows." The Goddess of the Moon has always made her clothes the old-fashioned way. She sewed it from scratch with needles and threads. _

_"Amaterasu-sama," answered the little angel. "She caught me looking in a kimono store a week before our birthday." Embarrassment flooded her voice. "She told me afterwards weaving a kimono with my own hand would make the one I loved much happier." She abruptly clamped her mouth shut and shot Aoi an accusing look and made her feel as though she was at fault. _

_"The one you love?" she repeated, feeling a swarm of butterflies trouncing in her stomach. "Who in Heaven's name could you be referring to?" _

_ "There you go again," Akari mumbled. "Why ask when you already know the answer?" Her uneven breaths were more than just hot. Aoi could feel them clearly even through the two layers of her chihaya. And they... were driving her wild. _

_"I am dense, Akari." Aoi rubbed her nose against Akari's burning cheek, the one she failed to hide. The body of Priestess of the Sun tensed as a soft whimper full of both embarrassment and joy was released from her lips. "I can never figure such things out on my own." _

_"Liar," her sweetheart muttered. "Jerk. Meanie." There was no sting in her words. _

_"Now you know?" Aoi smiled. "Tell me who it is you love, Akaa-chan." The girl trembled. It had been a very long time since Aoi last called her that. She had stopped when Akari figured out the meaning behind the nickname. Although the little angel claimed that she was not pleased knowing that she had been treated like a kid since childhood, Aoi was under the impression that her sweetheart's burning cheeks and the twitch of her mouth's corners conveyed something other than annoyance. There were times she asked herself why the golden-haired girl just could not be honest with herself and admit that she liked to be addressed in such a way. _

_"I love _you_, Kannazuki Aoi," she said after taking a deep breath. "Satisfied?" _

_"Very," Aoi whispered gently in response. "And here's a little gift to show my appreciation, dear my precious Priestess of the Sun. You would not mind _"the usual"_, I take it?" _

_Aoi's right hand, currently on the golden-haired girl's waist, traveled upward until it rested against the back of her head. Aoi's lips then drew closer, attempting to claim Akari's as hers. To much of her regret, she had to stop midway, for the beautiful girl in her arms was shaking her head. _

_"What, you're going to kiss me here?" the little angel said, scandalized. _

_"I cannot see why not." Aoi smiled. "Tsukiyomi-sama is gone and will not return until tomorrow's evening. Who is there to bother us?" She felt like blushing herself at what her words seemed to be suggesting. _

_"At least... bring me inside, would you?" her childhood friend murmured in embarrassment. "I don't feel comfortable out here." _

_"Your wish is my command," was what she said before she wrapped the girl she loved in the golden fabric of the kimono, scooped her up into her arms, and walked back toward the room. There, on the bare tatami floor, she laid her childhood friend on her back. There, Aoi settled quietly on top of the little angel's tender body. There, her lips inched toward their desired destination once more. As the shoji door drew shut and robbed the room of most of its illumination, a kiss was formed and deepened on both sides until they had to break free of each other to catch their breath. Akari's lips were so sweet that Aoi usually wondered whether the girl had honey for breakfast everyday. She leaned in again. _

_"What?" Aoi asked upon seeing Akari pull a hand over her mouth and giggle. Honest to the heavens above, she had never had a clue how the little angel could manage to look so criminally adorable even when doing such a silly thing. _

_"You're strangely aggressive today, Ao-chan." _

_"You dislike it?" _

_The Priestess of the Sun shook her magnificent head. "Suits me just fine." She giggled even harder before she put her arms around Aoi's neck and pulled her closer. In the alluring symphony of raining kisses that immediately followed, in the unbearable heat that seemed to be burning Aoi alive, and also in the overflowing happiness that was brought to her by Akari's lips – ever lingering upon hers, tugging at hers in the gentlest way possible , and urging hers to reciprocate – her consciousness faded into oblivion. _

_Long afterward – how long, Aoi did not know. Time always passed in haste when they were enjoying their precious intimacy – she found herself sitting against the wall and quietly running her hand through the golden tresses of the little angel, who was on her lap, who was cradled in her embrace, who was also putting the side of her face against Aoi's heaving chest because she had said she wanted to listen to Aoi's heart beating close. Their outfits were a little bit disheveled, showing skin here and there on their shoulders and their hips, but all in all, decent enough not to suggest that they had attempted to go past the limits and taint their Innocence. Aoi resisted the urge to scoff. As if the Sun and Moon Crests would let them... _

_"Ao-chan?" the little angel sat up a little bit and said while nuzzling her nose at the crook of Aoi's neck and brushing her fingers affectionately against Aoi's lips. The girl then proceeded to kiss her throat and her bare shoulder in a way that almost had Aoi whimper aloud. Akari gave a quiet chuckle. _

_"Yes?" Aoi bit her girlfriend's fingers teasingly. Although the latter sniffed in feigned disapproval, she did not take it back. _

_"Have you thought about what I said a few days ago?" _

_"About telling Tsukiyomi-sama everything about us?" _

_"Yup." Akari nodded, smiling. "I know the Laws of Heaven forbid us from falling in love but Tsukiyomi-sama will understand. If all the Immortals won't support our love, she still will, I'm sure." _

_"Yes, but I... do not want to, Akari." _

_"Why?" _

_"Did you not see how hard she cried on our birthday, when we returned from Izumo?" Aoi said. "Knowing that one of us would die by the other's hand even when we are in love would break her heart. I do not wish to see her hurting for our sake anymore." _

_"You're... right." Akari sighed. _

_"You have not told me the reason, though," Aoi said. "We have been carrying on in secret for almost three years already. Why let her know now?" _

_"You're not the only one who needs attention, Ao-chan," the golden-haired girl muttered with coloring cheeks. "You only came close to me after Tsukiyomi-sama had left on her occasional trips to Izumo. It's too painful to wait one or two months before I can have you hold me and kiss me again. Don't you know how much I long for you every day?" _

_"Akari..." _

_"I... was hoping that she would allow you to move back into my room," Akari continued in a sheepish voice. "I was thinking that it would be very nice to sleep... next to you again. I... I only want to make as much memory between us as I can, spend as much time with you as possible before you..." Tears welled in Akari's amethyst eyes. Her voice broke. _

_"I'm sorry, Ao-chan." Aoi's childhood friend breathed into her white chihaya, appearing determined not to let Aoi see her crying. Her fingers fastened on Aoi's lapels. Her shoulders trembled in unspeakable grief. "Something got into my eyes." _

_"I am not going anywhere," Aoi put her hand atop one of the little angel's and assured her gently. "Neither are you." _

_"But..." Akari's grip on Aoi's white kimono shirt tightened, "there is no way out." Desperation and agony were all that were present in her tattered voice. Aoi's heart began to ache. _

_"There is one." She gently pushed her sweetheart away from her and cupped the girl's face in both of her hands. Quietly, she kissed away the tears that were thundering down the other girl's cheeks. "There has always been one," Aoi said slowly in an attempt to drive the words home. "Akari, would you run away with me?" _

_"We can't, Ao-chan." The little angel shook her head after a moment of staring at Aoi in shock. _

_"Why not?" Aoi asked. "If it means that we can live on together, why not?" _

_"Because people will die!" the Priestess of the Sun sobbed. "The Human World will die!" _

_"Why should I care?" Aoi whispered, and the other girl's eyes widened. "I do not love the world as much as I love you. I do not live for the people the way I live for your sake. Besides, it was their choice to make Yamata no Orochi their God. Why do we have to pay for their mistakes with our feelings, our blood, and our lives?" _

_"I..." _

_"Only death awaits us here. We have to go," Aoi looked deep into the amethyst crystals that were Akari's eyes and pleaded. It was rather strange how the other girl was entirely within her reach yet at the same time as distant as the Earth riding above the horizon. Worse, although her girlfriend was warmer than the hottest fire could burn in a hearth, Aoi felt cold enough to shiver. "Anywhere is fine, Onogoro, the Underworld, anywhere... as long as I can keep an eye on both of us..." _

_"Ao-chan..." the little angel tried to break in, but Aoi rode right over her. _

_"There are so many things I still yet to accomplish. I promised to make you the happiest girl in the Three Worlds_._" Words rushed out of Aoi's mouth. Yet the more she said, the more frightened she became, and the more her voice cracked. "I promised that you would never have to spend a moment without me in this life. I meant what I said, Akari... so please let me keep those promises, I beg of you!" _

_Aoi stared at the golden haired girl, awaiting the answer that she hoped Akari would give and dreading the thunder she hoped would never strike. Her hope sank after a long moment of silence, when two streams of tears flowed down the little angel's cheeks once more. Her heart stopped making any sound as she recognized the agony and the heartbroken pain that shone in those wet amethyst eyes of the one she loved. _So it was still a _"No"_ after all?_ she thought. _Until the end of time, we vow to stay as one, in life or in death, in sickness or in health. There shall not be a moment in which we part. There shall not be a day in which our love is gone, _the words revolved in her head in deafening silence. So much for the Prayer of Hope... So much for the wish that it would bind them as one for all eternity... _

_Aoi slumped against her sweetheart's body. Her arms fell limply to her sides as her head dropped on the shoulder of the girl she loved. If her insides had been freezing before, they turned to ice now. _It is all... over,_ she thought in despair. She was well aware of the outcome the moment she opened her mouth and pleaded. She had never been confident she could persuade a kind-hearted person like her childhood friend to leave the Human World to its own device. Still, Aoi had tried to lie to herself that somehow Akari would agree, tried to convince herself that she would outweigh the world in her girlfriend's heart. She was such a fool. _

_"I only want to be with you," she mumbled. "I only want to be happy. Is that... too much to ask for?" _

_She realized that Akari was saying something, for several sounds reach her ears. For all the world, they could have been gibberish. She did not understand a single one of them. _Am I crying? _she asked herself absently. Definitely, for tears was trickling down her cheeks. They were hot. The trails they left behind seemed to be made of blazing fire. A thick blanket of fog pulled over her eyes and robbed her of her vision while a sense of numbness spread across her skin and took away the softness of Akari's body. _

_"I did not ask for the Throne of Heaven," she said while swallowing the tears that happened to roll past her lips. She knew that they should have been salty. All she tasted was bitterness. "I did not need immortality, either. I'd only like to have a little house, probably on a green hill or near to the ocean, where the two of us would spend the rest of our time by each other's side" It was strange how her voice sounded just like someone else's the way it grew emptier, smaller, and more distant with every word. "I want to cook for you everyday... to see you frown afterward... to hear you tell me I should have stayed out of the kitchen, like you always did... Every evening, I want to hold your hand and watch you fall asleep, just to wait for you to wake up the morning after... Are they... too much to ask for? _

_She felt her body being shaken, but only very dimly. Paying it no more attention, she continued to pursue the thoughts in her head, "I have always known you look up to Tsukiyomi-sama and was grateful to her for having raised the two of us." Although her mouth was moving without her meaning it to, her ears did not pick up a word. "I have always known you would love to have a child. While I cannot give you one of my own flesh and blood, I did think of a way. Probably when we get older, when our life has become more stable, we would try to adopt... Maybe from one of those orphanages, where those poor children are abandoned. I figure it would be rather awkward if the people there asked why two women would do something like that... I guess we are spared the trouble of having to cook up a believable answer now. I wonder if it is too foolish of me to plan my life without knowing how our lives would end and what destiny has in store for us..." _

_Suddenly, warmth flowed into her, a stream of sweetness coming from nowhere, a gentle current that coursed through her almost lifeless body and vitalized it once more. Her sight, her hearing, and all her other senses returned to her just in time to let her realize that a pair of lips was engulfing hers and giving them a kiss that would probably melt all the ice in the Human World. _

_"I love everything about you..." the little angel whispered gently as she pulled away. Her hands remained on Aoi's cheeks, her moist amethyst eyes locked with Aoi's sapphire, "but I can't say I'm fond of your tendency to jump to conclusions. I didn't say _"No"_, did I?" _

_"You mean..."Aoi stared at the other girl and asked, unable to believe what she just heard, "you will come with me?" Hope welled in her and spread its gentle warmth across her ice-cold body. _

_"Yes, my silly Ao-chan," replied the Priestess of the Sun, who smiled affectionately at her as she stroked her cheeks. "You honestly couldn't be thinking that I would refuse you after hearing those words now could you? I'm not that heartless, you know." _

_"I'm sorry, Akaa-chan..." Aoi buried her face in her hands and started to sob uncontrollably. "I'm sorry..." _

_"No, Ao-chan, I am the one who must apologize." The golden-haired girl quietly pulled her into a tight hug. "I'm sorry for making you suffer for so long." _

_Aoi only cried harder hearing those gentle words. Yet, Akari soon put a firm stop to her tears by showering her forehead, her cheeks, and her lips with kisses. Soon, she was swept back into the wave of happiness before the conversation between them ever started. Only, no apprehension remained in her head this time, for she knew her dearest wish had already been granted. That night, she spent sleeping peacefully in Akari's room, on the futon that was soaked with her scent, cuddled tightly in her loving embrace. For the first time in many months, Aoi had a dream without blood, swords and the frightening vision of the future. _

Kannazuki Aoi woke up from the dream just to find her face drenched with tears, eyes almost swollen. She sighed. Of all the dreams possible, she had to have one involving Kannazuki Akari, the girl she loved. Her fist clenched. Worst of all, that very dream reminded Aoi of the lie the Original Priestess of the Sun had said. The girl never meant to run away with Aoi in the first place. That was why she hesitated when Aoi asked her to and only said _"__yes"_ moments later. No doubt she had been scheming in her head all the while. Aoi's counterpart had lied to her to calm her down and to make her lower her guard then struck when she least expected. Aoi had never thought her childhood friend and sweetheart to be so deceitful...

"Priestess?" Saotome Makoto's voice echoed in from outside the door to her room.

"What is it?" she answered in a steely voice that certainly did not match her tear-stained cheeks. She was only thankful that the Follower was not inside.

"The Lord has issued an order to attack Shingetsu Grand Shrine," the Eighth Head announced, her voice no less steely. Having been informed of Aoi's true intention or not, the former track-and-field athlete showed no interest in warming up to her. Not that Aoi wanted her to, though. They would attract less attention if they kept treating each other as thorns beneath their feet. "We are to capture the Priestess of the Sun."

"Very well," she replied. "I will be out there momentarily. And wait a second, Saotome Makoto," Aoi added when before the other girl could take another step.

"Yes?"

"How is the Second Head?"

"She's still crying her heart out in her room," Makoto said, her voice growing accusing after every word. "I went there earlier to relay the same order."

"Still crying?"

"Who can blame her? She did lose the two persons she loves most in _one_ day, may I remind you."

"What is she going to do, do you know?" Aoi decided to ignore the Orochi's hostile tone and chuckled softly.

"Taking revenge on Oogami Souma, I suppose," Saotome Makoto replied. "She has been cursing him with every profane word possible ever since Nekoko testified that the wounds on Tokiya's body werecaused by lightning, which of course signed the death warrant for the Seventh Head."

"Good." Aoi's chuckle grew louder and much more amused. "You may go now." Footsteps faded into the distance.

After she had made sure that her face was presentable to the surviving Orochi Heads, she rose to her feet and walked out of her room while feeling excitement growing in her heart. Finally, the time to settle the score with the Priestess of the Sun had arrived. At long last, the chance for her to exact her revenge had come. This time, she had a clear idea of whom she wanted dead. This time, destiny would be the one to _lose!_


	12. When Gods descend

_**EPISODE ELEVEN: WHEN GODS DESCEND.**_

* * *

Sitting comfortably in a high-backed and cushioned chair, Ame no Minaka stroked his long white beard while gazing at a holographic screen hovering a few inches above his large desk. He was currently in his spacious office in the Heavenly Palace, every wall of which was decorated with paintings by the best artists Izumo had ever produced, the ground on which he walk was covered with the most expensive carpet that money could buy. Lining long the wall were stone pedestals on which crystal vases or other artifacts imported from the Citadel itself stood in all of their glories and further affirmed to whoever chanced upon this place that its owner was a man with great taste. He chuckled. He could still remember the faces of his colleagues in the Assembly, who were invited to his office, when they laid their eyes upon his precious collection. The gleam of greed and envy in their eyes had never failed to make his day. 

Ame no Minaka took a sip from his teacup, the content of which was brewed with the finest leaves and by the finest hands, and idly leaned his back against the comfortable chair. His gaze once more fell on the holographic screen that was showing the complete map of the Holy City. A smile of satisfaction crossed his lips.

Izumo, surrounded by forests and mountain ranges, was shaped like a great disc spanning at least a hundred miles in radius and housed four million Immortals in total, many of them immigrants from the Citadel itself. Their very safety was ensured by the great Dimensional Boundary, an invisible layer that enclosed the dimensional space in which the Holy City existed, that had ripped apart countless fools who had the illusion that their feeble powers could grant them entry into the World of the Gods. What they hoped to gain was immortality and boundless honor. What they received was instant death.

In addition to the Dimensional Boundary, Izumo also had an army of eight thousand powerful soldiers, armed to their toenails and absolutely capable of wiping out any enemy Heaven might have. That very army was then split into two divisions, called the Imperial First and Second Battalions, headed respectively by Heaven's two High Commanders, Kagutsuchi the God of Fire and Susanou no Mikoto the God of Storms. The First Battalion's headquarters were located on the West side of Izumo, the Second's on the East, both well beyond the circular wall that surrounded the city. Their duty was to protect the peace of Heaven... or _so_ the recruitment flyers for the army always claimed.

_Yeah right, _Ame no Minaka thought and laughed. He knew as well as anyone who lived in Heaven that the Army was established because the Lord of Izumo wanted to have a weapon to squash anybody who thought that they could wrestle the Heaven Throne away from him by force. That was the sole reason why the man appointed his two sons to the posts of High Commander while the only thing Kagutsuchi was skilled at was dueling one-on-one and Susanou no Mikoto already had his duty as the Keeper of the Hall of Memories to deal with. One of the Battalions' main functions was to serve as a reminder to the Celestial Assembly. What Izanagi meant to tell them was that he had a powerful force at his disposal, a monster ready to unleash anytime he wanted, and that unless they wished to be crushed, they should tend their duties well and never have any thought of rebellion.

Ame no Minaka had to give the Ruler of Heaven a mental bow. Without the Army at his beck and call, he would have faced at least a few uprisings during the last three thousand years. The man was more aware than anyone else how his iron-fist reign and his inflexible policies did not sit too well with the majority of the public. Had there been a system that allowed the Immortals to choose their own ruler, the Lord of Izumo would have been dethroned and executed long since.

In addition to being a jerk and a tyrant, Izanagi was also a formidable strategist. Despite having an army that was headed by his sons, who outwardly appeared to be very loyal to their father, the man never lowered his guard. The man realized that although his Battalions had helped keep the Celestial Assembly in line, he might have just created something that was equally dangerous. He became quite conscious of the fact that there was no guarantee that the eight thousand soldiers he commissioned would not stage a coup d'état and overthrow him. Apparently, it never occurred to the Lord of Izumo that he could trust Susanou no Mikoto and Kagutsuchi. If he had, two things would never have happened.

First, Izanagi would never have charged a special unit in the Holy Messenger Division to monitor the Gods of Storms and Fire. Some of his colleagues sometimes wondered why the man had never sent his sons to the Sanctum Core to be questioned if he was so concerned that the latter might harbor some sort of secret scheme against him. Ame no Minaka knew the answer to that question. Izanagi was fearful that if he requested the Celestial Assembly's help in investigation Susanou no Mikoto and Kagutsuchi, they would be able to figure out that the bond between the Army and the Ruler of Heaven was not as concrete as they had thought.

Second, Izanagi would never have built the Kusanagi System. Ame no Minaka then felt himself reeling to the Sanctum Core, where Susanou no Mikoto had made an entrance yesterday to deliver a full report on the artillery network consisting of twelve colossal steel obelisks that towered over Izumo and inspired terror and absolute obedience upon its citizens.

_"Honorable God of Storms, you may begin anytime you wish," Ame no Minaka had intoned shortly after the full chamber of the Assembly gave a warm welcome to the High Commander of the Second Imperial Battalion. Technically, he and Susanou no Mikoto were equals. In reality, the latter stood much higher in the hierarchy, for he commanded a force to be reckoned with, for he was one of the key players in this plan, and for he represented the Regent of the Underworld. That had been why the Arbiters had been treating the young man with the respect due the Lord of Izumo himself. _

_"Thank you, Lord Arbiter," replied Susanou no Mikoto with an incline of his head. Somewhere above him, a woman's faint sigh could be heard. Being the most handsome man in the Three Worlds, his very presence in the Sanctum Core was actually a threat to the sanity of its many female administrators... and some of its male ones. "As you are aware, I am here today to inform you of the latest developments in the plan you and the Regent of the Underworld had worked out," he swept his gaze across the cascading rows of seat. A great deal more sighs were produced. "The first thing I need to speak about is the Kusanagi System and its relevance to the operation that we will soon carry out." _

_The High Commander took from his coat pocket a PDA, a few keys on which he then pressed. A heartbeat later, a large holographic landscape that depicted the Holy City itself appeared in the small clearing on the floor of the Grand Hall of the Sky. The structures that caught their attention immediately, of course, were twelve needle-shaped pillars that formed a large circle around the Heavenly Palace, the very heart of Izumo. _

_"The Kusanagi Pillars," intoned the God of Storms, his voice carrying to the furthest heights of the Core, "are in reality the prototype to the Shinken Swords in Shingetsu Grand Shrine. As such, they possess the power to produce sacred lightning that can reduce even an Immortal to ashes. In addition, they can also link with one another through the great metal ring that stands at their bases. Once they are connected, they can trap the entire City in _a force field_ that temporarily _suppresses magical power_. My father added this feature upon his return from the Underworld." A few pairs of eyes widened. A few surprised gasps rose. Among the Assembly, there were those who never had a clue how fearsome those steel pillars were. _

_"Equidistant from one another, the Pillars were respectively named after the twelve months of the lunar calendar. Mutsuki," the God of Storms gestured at the obelisk that was due north, "Kisaragi, Yayoi, Uzuki, Satsuki, Minazuki, Fumitsuki, Hazuki, Nagatsuki, Kamiarizuki, Shimotsuki, and Shiwasu." His hand moved to a different Pillar after every name he uttered. "Many people are under the impression that each of the Pillars is manned separately. That, however, is false." He pressed on another key on his PDA, which in turned lit up the large building located at the heart of the circle formed by the Kusanagi System. It was where the Sanctum Core was located, Ame no Minaka realized at the first glance. _

_"The Heavenly Palace?" someone said wonderingly. _

_"Correct." Susanou no Mikoto nodded. "The very building that all of us are sitting in. If you leave the Core, make three left turns, five right turns, and another two left, you will arrive at the headquarters of the Messenger Division, where the Kusanagi System's mainframe is kept and regularly maintained." _

_More gasps. More widened eyes. Ame no Minaka and the other two Arbiters simply narrowed theirs at the holographic model. They had not known that the mainframe was but a stone's throw away from where they worked. They had guessed that it was hidden somewhere more secret and less... conspicuous. _It is right under our nose all along!_ he thought. _

_"As you would expect, not only is the Kusanagi mainframe guarded by a great host of Messengers, it is also kept safe electronically by an impenetrable Operating System. The OS is designed to reject all commands unless provided with the correct Activation Code, a sequence of numbers and characters known only to the Ruler of Heaven and his most trusted aid, Yuusaku." The High Commander paused to take a breath then continued, "After years of conducting researches on Kusanagi in secret, I regret to announce that the System, coupled with the Imperial Army, cannot be defeated by conventional means." _

_"How about... unconventional means?" asked Kami no Mikoto, the only woman in the Three Arbiters. Surprisingly enough, she had never been fazed by Susanou's handsome features. But then... rumor also had it that she had taken another woman for a lover and hid her so well that even the Holy Messengers had not been able to dig up where she was. Ame no Minaka suspected that the first thing that his subordinate Arbiter was going to do with the laws was to abolish the one that forbid game-gender union. _

_"Very sharp, Lady Arbiter," commented the Gods of Storms. "If you would recall, for years now I have been requesting budgets from you, which were approved in a most timely manner, you have my thanks, without actually letting you know what they were used for. Now, I will. Ladies and gentlemen, I have used them to build a weapon that can help us bring down Kusanagi. And this," another press on another key on the PDA lit up a second building in Izumo, "is where I hide it." _

_"But how?!" exclaimed Takami no Mikoto, who was but a second a head of a hundred other members of the Assembly. "There is nothing in that building!" _

_"I beg to differ, Lord Arbiter." Susanou no Mikoto laughed. "In there lies a computer system that can rival the Kusanagi's mainframe in term of processing power." He also gave each of the Arbiters a meaningful glance. "As well as a limitless energy source." _

_Ame no Minaka's eyes widen in surprise. "Genius!" he exclaimed afterwards. _

_"I am most unworthy of your praise." The God of Storms bowed deeply to him. _

_"But that is just Kusanagi!" someone else said. "What about the Army?" _

_"I am glad you asked that, sir," replied Susanou no Mikoto in a calm voice. "Fear not, for the Regent of the Underworld has provided us with an excellent solution." _

_When the handsome man finished explaining what that solution was, every mouth there was in the Sanctum Core was grinning. _

Before, Ame no Minaka had been racking his bran in order to find a way to defeat the armed forces of Izumo, for as long as they existed, his way to the Heaven Throne was but barred. When the Kusanagi System was added into the mix, the equation became far more complicated, the solution equally elusive. He had been so frustrated by his inability to make his ambition reality that during some nights, he could not even sleep. _But that was then, and this is now,_ he thought in amusement. Every obstacle had been removed. The Throne was but his. He laughed. For once, everything was going the way he wanted them to.

"Ame no Minaka-sama," called the voice of his second officer, Takami no Mikoto, from outside the door to his office.

"What is it?" he asked.

"We are ready to convene in the Core," answered the other Arbiter. "And he is already there."

"Excellent," he said as he rose to his feet. "We should not keep the boy waiting." Once they were done with him, they still had a great many things to discuss, one of which being the method with which they would share the power when the current Ruler of Heaven was out of the way.

* * *

"Just how long do you intend to watch me, Kagutsuchi-san?" Susanou no Mikoto muttered darkly without bothering to stand up and face the God of Fire. He remained in the high-backed armchair in front of the Terminal and tried to focus on his daily tasks. For some reason, though, the chair in which he lounged every time he worked in the Hall now offered as much comfort as a three-legged stool. It did nothing to lighten his mood. "I said I would not tell you anything, and that is final." 

"Then I'll stay here until you do, Susanou," his twin brother answered with an annoying smile.

"Do whatever you wish, then," he said before putting the flame-haired man out of his mind and beginning to forward the memories files that the Celestial Assembly had requested.

For several minutes, only the sounds of the Kiokkai waves crashing against the high platform on which Kagutsuchi stood echoed inside the vast dimension of the Memories Hall. Oddly enough, they were not soothing as they used to be. The more the silence stretched, the more Susanou felt Kagutsuchi's eyes, crimson augers hotter than fire, boring into his back, and the more annoyed he became. Meanwhile, the latter kept making the tiniest cough every now and then as if to prove that he was still there and watching every move Susanou made. He almost gnashed his teeth in fury as a result. Never once in his life did he imagine that such a maddening sound could possibly exist. Another few minutes passed before he finally decided that he was not going to sit there and be made fun by his brother anymore.

"Is there not something you should do?" He stood up, pushed the chair back, spun on his heel, and faced the God of Fire with all his furies. His eyes could have been as hot as the great mane of flame that was the other man's hair. It did not matter which one of them was taller and had more muscles. For Immortals, the amount of celestial power possessed was the key. In that, he was just as gifted as his twin brother. "For instant, get on with your own life?" he whispered in a dangerous voice.

"Oh, what's this?" Kagutsuchi let out a great gust of laughter that was full of genuine amusement. Susanou started to wonder how many blows of fist it would take to make the other man close his mouth and leave. "The God of Storms lost his cool just because I looked at him! How unusual, how rare! And I haven't even started the taunts yet!"

"If you think being my brother allows you to waltz into my office, irritate me, and still get away unscathed, you are mistaken," he declared, his voice growing colder and colder. By the end of the sentence, it had the full force of an arctic wind. "Leave on your own now, or be carried away by medics later." Power began to rise in him like the strongest tides.

"Oh, threats!" If anything, Kagutsuchi only seemed much more amused by Susanou's infuriated tone. "I'm scared!" His laughter said he was feeling nothing as such. "I think I'm going to find her and hide behind her back now." His tone left no doubt as who whom he was referring to.

_"Leave!"_ Susanou snapped. He was so angry that a fraction of his powers wormed trough his restraints and shrouded the cerulean sky of the Hall of Memories with the darkest clouds. The light was smothered in an instant. The ocean rose in murderous waves, its surface mirroring his mood. Thunder roared to punctuate the howling of the winds. White lightning jabbed madly downward from the dark blanket covering the vast heavens. Rain fell.

"Come now, Susanou." The God of Fire laughed, seemingly oblivious to the drastic change in the surrounding. Before the fierce wind could reach him, they were driven away. Before the raindrops could touch him, they were evaporated. Susanou ended up being the only one who was getting soaked and chilled to the bone. The fact infuriated him even more. "I was only kidding you, you know."

"I do not find you funny, Kagutsuchi-san," Susanou said, his hand gesturing at the cloud-ridden skies and withdrawing his powers. In but a heartbeat, the winds died, the Kiokkai calmed, the thunder ceased, and the cloud dispersed. The only evidence that could suggest that a storm had just passed them by was the water left in his clothes and on his body, which he also dried completely with a wave of his hand. Not that the departed storm had taken his anger along, though. He was still mad enough to chew rocks.

"Well, you never did." The other High Commander of the Army chuckled. "But on the other hand, my jokes had never gotten on your nerve, either." He shot Susanou a knowing look.

Shocked by the response, he stared at his twin brother in stark horror. The God of Fire was right. No matter how many times Susanou had been teased by the other man before, he had not cared much. If anything, he only thought those jokes bland, tasteless, childish, and sorely lacking in the way of wits and subtlety. Yet, it could not be denied that Kagutsuchi had very nearly driven him over the edge just a minute ago. _Look what you have done to me, girl,_ he thought in bitterness. Every trouble that had happened to him today could be laid at her feet.

_Lounging in his comfortable armchair, Susanou no Mikoto currently had hands wrist-deep inside the One Terminal, his eyes fixed upon the holographic screen in front of him, and his head dispatching commands to the crystal block. As far as he was concerned, he was not getting any work done at all. Despite his desperate effort to organize the memories files and forward them to the Sanctum Core for the Celestial Assembly to process, he had spent his whole morning making mistakes, trying to correct them, and ending up making new ones. Deciding in utmost irritation that he had had enough, he pulled out his hands, raised them overhead, and would have slammed them against the top surface of the Terminal had a voice not whispered at the back of his head, _"That is exactly why we do not let people use the Terminal without supervision. When they get mad, they hit it." _His hands fell back to his sides as he chuckled aloud. _

_That was what he had told Saotome Makoto several days ago, when the girl came in to look for the memories of Kurusugawa Himeko, the Priestess of the Sun. With his back reclining against the cushion of his high-backed armchair, he laced his fingers atop hid stomach and gazed absently into the distance while thoughts revolved in a hurricane in his head. He now knew why he had been feeling so... unsettled since he first arrived in his office, why his heart had been pounding madly inside his chest, and why he could not focus on the tasks at hand. Apparently he had not done something that he did every single morning since the day he met the Orochi Eighth Head. _

_After a flash of light, a Vision Sphere came into existence and floated in the air just an arm's length away from his face. In it was a moderately tall girl whose body was swathed in a cloak black as the night, whose brown hair framed a face most men would call pretty, whose mouth was moving as though conversing someone, and whose emerald eyes showed just how much she hated that someone. _Saotome Makoto,_ Susanou whispered in a voice so soft and affectionate it almost startled him. _

_Strange as it might seem, that Orochi girl had become much more to Susanou than just someone happened to venture into his office, a place not many Immortals dared visit. At first, he had found it incomprehensible that her face kept popping up in his mind at the strangest time, that he was more than tempted to say her name, savor it as though the sweetest fruit, and that his heart would not let him be unless he made a Vision Spell just to look at her for a few seconds. Before long, he came to the realization that he had fallen for her, impossible as it might seem. Were his sisters or his twin brother to find out, they would laugh their heads off. Not that he intended to let them, of course. _

_Unlike the shameless Goddesses in Heaven, the young Follower had neither gone giddy at seeing his face nor acted as though she did not have an ounce of wits when he looked at her. Despite being intimidated by his powers and slightly impressed by his good looks, the girl had never stopped wanting to flay him into slices for having made fun of her at every turn. Had she had the chance, he was certain that she would have. At first, he had been taken aback when he first sensed the desire to slap him silly swelling in her head. His surprise then quickly turned into amusement as he began to tease her almost ruthlessly just so he could see her reaction. To his disappointment, though, she never hit him. _

_Susanou chuckled and thought to himself that Saotome Makoto was indeed one of a kind. She understood that she could not compete with Himemiya Chikane, yet she never stopped, she was well aware that Kurusugawa Himeko's heart had already belonged to someone else. Still, she persevered and decided to put all her efforts in making her wish reality, hoping that the one she loved would become hers someday. For that purpose she abandoned humanity and joined forces with the Dark God. For that she became an Orochi while knowing that she had just turned every living man and woman against her. The sheer length that the girl would go for love simply amazed him. If he had someone who loved him as much, or even half as much, there was nothing else in the world he could possibly want. _

_ "I thought she was more my type, Susanou," the voice of his twin brother said right next to his ear and made him give a violent start. _

_Everything happened so quickly that before Susanou knew it, he had already fallen from his chair in terror and ended up lying flat on the ground like a mortal tripped by a rock. There, he saw the God of Fire towering over him while grinning so broadly his lips could have split his face into two. Shame and fear washed over Susanou in endless waves as he realized that the other man had been watching him all along. When Kagutsuchi began to ask questions about Saotome Makoto, he knew that his carelessness and his obsession over the Orochi Head had landed him in a most grievous pinch. _

"You have my apology, Kagutsuchi-san," he muttered, feeling that he had fallen so far from grace that he had to apologize to his twin brother, who loved to make fun of him.

"No, no, I don't mind at all." The God of Fire waved his hand dismissively. "In fact, I'm really happy for you, brother!" He threw back his head and laughed so heartily that the whole platform trembled under his mirth.

"Why would you be?" Susanou narrowed his eyes at the other High Commander of Heaven, who did not appear to have noticed.

"Because you have finally found someone you love, silly." Kagutsuchi's laughter grew even louder. He then attempted to act brotherly and ruffle Susanou's hair. A sharp look from him had the man recoil and withdrew his hand hastily in a most satisfactory manner. He coughed to cover his embarrassment and added, "The way you kept staring down your nose at the Goddesses in Heaven, I was afraid you'd be a bachelor for the rest of your life."

"I would suggest that instead of worrying about my love life," said Susanou scathingly, "you should worry about yours. If I recall correctly, none of the Goddesses in Heaven spared you a look." It was the truth. Kagutsuchi's high station and incredible magical prowess mattered not when it came to conquering the heart of the ladies, which the man was terrible at. It did not help, either, that he was infamous for his tendency to pick fights and destroy other people's properties. If there was one person in Izumo who was less popular than the God of Fire, Susanou did not know him.

"I don't care," declared the other man. If he was offended, he hid it well. "Give me an opponent to fight and I'm happy. Women are a bother. All they're good for is..." He stopped abruptly and shot Susanou a mischievous look. "Hey, don't try to change the topic."

He only muttered darkly under his breath in response and started to wonder why his stupid oaf of a twin brother was so sharp today.

"But seriously, Susanou," said Kagutsuchi, who planted himself on Susanou's chair as though it was his. "What are you going to do about her?"

"Meaning what?"

"You do realize how difficult it will be to make your Makoto-chan like you, right?" The flame-haired once again flashed his absolutely infuriating smile at him. "She adores _girls_. You're the furthest thing from one."

"I know how to deal with that," he answered curtly. "Thank you very much for stating the obvious."

"Oh really?" The God of Fire laughed. "I hope you aren't going to ask the R&D Division to turn you into a girl. Words were getting around that those bastards were looking for some test subject to perform a gender-change operation on..." Susanou guessed that his face must have undergone some sort of drastic change – he did feel it harden – for his twin brother decided to shut up after a glance and coughed loudly afterwards.

"I am under the impression that you came only to tease me, Kagutsuchi-san," he said frostily as he took a menacing step closer to the occupied chair. Sometimes, he just could not deal with the man.

"No, I'm here for a delivery." The God of Fire produced a sphere of light from his palm and handed it over. "An Agent from the Intelligence Service of Reiha gave it to me. Creepy guy. He actually managed to sneak up right behind my back without me noticing," he added, shivering as though cold.

"You have read this message, I presume," Susanou said grimly after he had let his mind delve into the sphere of light, feeling anger bubbling in his blood.

"Yup."

"Then why did you not give it to me sooner?" he growled. "Was teasing me so important that you would put off the mission?"

"Well, we do have time. It's not like it's an emergency, is it?" His twin brother shrugged, seemingly oblivious to the murderous stare that he was fixed with. Suddenly, he blinked and fell silent for about five minutes before he spoke up again. "Oh, sorry, brother. Message from headquarters," he explained as he rose from the chair and hurried toward the Dimensional Portal. "Gotta go back. I'll talk to you later." He walked into the silvery surface and vanished, leaving behind Susanou, who did not know whether he should laugh or cry at his twin brother. It would appear that the man was born only to torment him. Sometimes, maybe once or twice a month, he caught himself wishing that the God of Fire had never been born into this world.

Sighing, he looked again at the glowing object in his hand, which had informed him in the voice of the Regent of the Underworld that his father had left for Onogoro about two hours ago. An hour from now, Operation Providence Breaker would commence, it also said. _And once it does,_ he thought in bitterness, _there is no going back._ He thought of his beloved sister the Goddess of the Sun, who had spent the last three thousand years in agony and heartbreaks, who sought love but never received, and who had less than a few hours to live. He wanted to cry.

* * *

Oogami Kazuki was focusing his attention on the map of Shingetsu atop his kotatsu table when he heard a knock on the door to his study. Before he could speak up, his brother had already called from outside in a voice that was tight, strained, and on the verge of breaking, "Nii-san, do you have a minute?" He found his eyes widened in shock. 

"Come in," he answered, wondering what could have happened to his little brother, who had never sounded in such a way since he acquired that accursed Sealed Sword from the Enshrinement Chamber of Shingetsu. When the door opened, he saw the Seventh Head, whose facial expression mirrored his voice, whose eyes were deeply troubled, and whose right hand was clutching an Elemental Blade that was not his. Where the Lightning Blade was straight, this sword was crooked. While Raien had only one gem that acted as a separator between the hilt and the blade, this one had seven that were arranged in the shape of the famous constellation the Big Dipper. It was Hokuto the Star Blade, the second most dangerous of the Swords. He gasped aloud and sprang to his feet. "Where... where did you get _that _from?!"

Souma walked into the room, laid Hokuto quietly atop the map on the table, and sat down in a slump before he answered bleakly, "Nowhere. I was training in the back garden with Raien when it came down inches from my face."

Blood drained from Kazuki's face. Tremblingly, he fell down to his knees, took the Sealed Sword into his hands, and examined it carefully. As his powers probed the magical weapon that had inspired terror and awe upon those who held it, his jaw dropped. There was something missing, something that should have been there, and something the absence of which informed him that a terrible event had come to pass. The Star Blade fell from his hands and landed upon the table in a loud thud.

"How long... has it been since its appearance?" His voice trembled violently.

"About fifteen minutes ago," the boy answered bleakly, appearing to have caught on to Kazuki's mood. "What's... wrong?"

"You remember, don't you, that every Follower is bound to their Sealed Sword by a Soul Contract?" he asked then continued after a nod from his adopted brother, "The Contract in Hokuto has been nullified. The bond it shares with its wielder has been destroyed. Only one thing could have happened in that case, Souma." He swallowed painfully. "Tsubasa-kun is dead."

"That... can't be true!" the boy exclaimed, his whole body shaking in horror and disbelief. His eyes were trying to bulge out of his pockets. His fists were clenching so tightly that Kazuki half expected to see blood trickling out. "That can't be true!"

"I... hate to break this to you, Souma, but it is the truth," Kazuki said grudgingly. "The fact that Hokuto appeared in front of you is the proof. You have to know that when a wielder of an Elemental Blade dies, the weapon will reveal itself to the person whom its last master loves most." He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, kiddo."

"No!" the Seventh Head mouthed the word over and over again in denial while tears spilled out from the wells of his eyes and thundered down his cheeks. Shaking, he then took Hokuto into his arms and held it as though his own baby. "Tsubasa-nii-san," he called out in a heartbroken voice before he let out a string of full-throated wails that were full of despair, agony, guilt, and grief.

They stayed that way for another while with one of them crying his eyes out and the other unable to utter even a word of comfort. Kazuki knew that although he himself had loved the boy as his blood brother, he could never fill Tsubasa's position in Souma's heart. Much as the First Head of the Orochi had changed, he would forever remain an angel to the Seventh, for it was he who had cared for the boy and protected him during his darkest days. That, Souma would always remember no matter what.

Kazuki heaved a deep sigh and began to massage his temples. It was no time for him to mourn for the death while the safety of six billion of the living was at stake. Shameful and heartless as it was to admit, only half of him was saddened by this turn of events. The other half... was more than glad. Tsubasa was an Orochi to the core of his existence, someone who had forsaken his humanity and embraced the darkness, and a man who wouldn't hesitate in slaughtering every other man, woman, and child of the Human World. With him out of the way, the Dark God had lost one of his most powerful Followers. With the First Head dead, Onogoro's chance of survival had significantly increased. Furthermore, he could hardly say that the sudden demise of Tsubasa was unexpected. _It's inevitable,_ he thought. After all, the Priestess of the Moon was there.

Eventually, Souma's grief subsided. Now, the boy only stared teary-eyed at the only thing that could remind him of his deceased brother, the Sealed Sword in his embrace.

"You're not asking me who has killed Tsubasa-kun," Kazuki observed.

"If you knew, you would tell me, I'm sure," the boy mumbled in his tattered tearful voice as he slowly rose to his feet. The trust Kazuki sensed in those words became a knife of guilt that pierced his heart. He was fully aware of the identity of the First Head's murderer, yet he did not dare tell his little brother. Were he to, the whole truth would also come out. That he did not desire... at least at the moment.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Back to my room, nii-san," the boy answered, barely able to hold back a sob. "I... want to be alone for a while." He used his sleeve to dry the tears on his face. Kazuki understood what his little brother meant. The boy was planning to consume his grief for his blood brother in private, away from the prying eyes of anyone else.

"That sounds like a good idea, Souma," he said and nodded while the Orochi Seventh Head slowly turned around and prepared to leave. He, however, shouted, _"Wait!"_ the moment his eyes fell upon something that upturned his stomach.

"What... is it, nii-san?" said the boy, whose face suddenly grew fearful, whose left hand immediately went for his right shirt sleeve and pulled it down.

_"Show me your right hand, now!"_ Kazuki snapped as he towered over his brother, who seemed to want to shrink under his cutting gaze.

"Fine," Souma muttered darkly and rolled up his sleeve. The sight of what lay beneath the fabric of the denim shirt he was wearing struck Kazuki like a slap across his face. On the skin of his brother's forearm were countless of strange characters written in the darkest ink possible. He had seen them before in the ancient scriptures preserved in the great library of the Council of Priests, the headquarters of which were located in Tokyo.

"Where... else, Souma?" he asked in a bleak voice.

"All over my body," the Seventh Head professed, his hand rising to his collar. "Yesterday, my neck is clean. Now..." He undid the buttons and pulled it down to show the same kind of unreadable characters scribbled across the skin on his throat. "I'm afraid... that they will appear on my face tomorrow," he continued uneasily and buttoned up his collar again.

Kazuki groaned aloud in despair, "Good heavens!"

"What's wrong, nii-san?" Souma asked.

"Everything!" Kazuki said weakly. "I told you to refrain from tapping too far into Raien's powers, Souma." Anger flared in him and quickly subsided. He sighed and sat down in front of his kotatsu table again. There he trembled. There he buried his face in his hands and felt cold sweat running down his back. Upon looking up again after a while, he found the Seventh Head of the Orochi sitting across the table, face anxious. "Why didn't you listen to me?" Kazuki said.

"I can't afford to," his brother answered bitterly. "If I hadn't, the Orochi and Kannazuki Aoi would have killed me. Now would you just tell me what those characters mean, nii-san?"

"I don't know," he said. "No one knows. Our experts have been trying to decipher them during the last hundred years without any success. But we know what could have brought them into existence as well as what would happen once they had appeared on someone's skin. This is bad, very bad, Souma."

"How?" the boy croaked.

"I'll explain everything now. Three thousand years ago, in the aftermath of the first holy war between humanity and the Dark God, the Council of Priests found eight piece of metals that could be found nowhere on Earth. They were well nigh indestructible. They possessed incredible energy as well as the power to replenish it. They thought that if they managed to harness their powers, they would have a greater chance when the Dark God returned to plague mankind. That was why they set out to forge them into what were now the Sealed Swords."

"How did they do that?" Souma blinked at him in surprise. "You said the metal pieces were indestructible."

"I said _well nigh_ indestructible. To the Eyes of Heaven, they were little more than clay," Kazuki answered. "The Council of Priests had used the Twin Keys to forge the Elemental Blades before they sealed the former in the Enshrinement Chamber."

"I... see," the boy said and tightened his mouth afterwards. It was another surprise that he didn't quite welcome, no doubt.

"Thanks to Ame no Hitomi, they obtained eight Swords, the names of which were given according to the Element that each of them housed," Kazuki continued. "Once the Council had selected eight of their strongest Priests, given the Swords to them, and asked them to test the extents of their powers, they became amazed." His voice turned grim. "_With the Eyes and the Swords in our hand, we will never again be afraid of Yamata no Orochi,_ they thought. However, they were quickly disabused as their amazement turned into horror. They noticed that the two Priests responsible for Raien and Hokuto were undergoing some drastic changes."

Souma swallowed audibly. "What changes?"

"Their moods darkened with every passing day. Strange characters, like yours, appeared on their skin." Kazuki replied. "They became incapable of mercy and they couldn't resist the desire to blow things up with their Swords. In the end, the Priests were forced to kill them."

"Why?!"

"Because they had no choice, Souma," Kazuki explained patiently. "Hokuto and Raien had infused their wielders with so much evil and darkness they became insane. They began to attack their friends, comrades, and even their families. As a result, the other six Priests immediately used their Elemental Blades to combat the berserk ones. Despite the former's desperate effort to save their colleagues, the latter resisted so fiercely that when the Lightning and the Star Blades were knocked out of their hands, they had sustained mortal injuries. They died shortly afterwards. Their deaths were the reason why the Council decided to lock up the Swords. Raien was Sealed next to the Eyes of Heaven so that the Eyes' holy powers could suppress it. Hokuto was entrusted to the Onmyouji of the Sumeragi, the most powerful magisters in the world." His eyes riveted on Souma's in an attempt to drive his words home. "By the way, the two Priests only went berserk _after_ the characters had shown up on their faces."

"I got your point," his brother muttered curtly.

"It's not too late yet, Souma," he said almost pleadingly. "Once you stop wielding the Sword, the characters shall fade away eventually. You won't run the risk of going insane that way."

"Do I dare, nii-san?" The boy gave a dark laughter. "Who's going to protect the Grand Shrine?"

"We'll be okay!" Kazuki insisted. "Once Kurusugawa-san draws the Eye of Heaven, nothing can harm us. You know firsthand how powerful Kagetsuki is."

"What if the Orochi attacks before she does?" Souma challenged. "Do you think that I can stand by and watch all of you being slaughtered like cattle?"

Kazuki couldn't say anything in response. He knew better than anyone that although the Protectors and the Priests he currently had outnumbered the Followers fifty to one, they stood absolutely no chance against the latter.

Suddenly, the daylight that had been streaming into his room through his open windows waned as though they had been blocked by a black curtain. Surprised, he stood up and walked to one of the windows, where he found his eyebrows trying to climb off his scalp. There was no sun in the sky. What were there... were the silver moon and the Dark Sun of the Orochi.

"Nii-san, that's..." stuttered the Seventh Head, who had followed him to the window, his eyes widened by surprise, his face dark with anger.

"I know, come with me," Kazuki said grimly and hurried out of the room.

Moments later, when they arrived at the Torii Archway that stood at the stone flight of stairs, they witnessed the terrible changes that were occurring to the surroundings. Under the eerie light of the moon and the Dark Sun, the winds was howling around the treetops and trying to pull them down to the ground, the air was simmering with so much heat it burned the insides of Kazuki's nose, the earth was trembling slightly as though something huge was moving beneath the surface, the water in the ponds were turning into ice despite the high temperature, and space itself was flexing as though it was trying to trying to pull every of Kazuki's particles apart.

_Damn it, the rest of the Swords are here, _he thought in distress. _This is bad._

"Saiki, Yuuji, Furin!" he intoned. As soon as the last name left his lips, the three messengers from headquarters seemed to materialize from thin air as they fell to their knees in front of him, their head so low their noses nearly touched the pavement. Their appearance was so sudden that it even startled Souma, who afterwards began to eye the three with respect. But of course, they were powerful exorcists before they became the messengers who served directly under the head of the Council. Their skills had been tested and proved through countless battles and many wars with the creatures of the night.

"Inform the Protectors I've placed around the Grand Shrine that we're moving the plan into the final phase," Kazuki commanded "Now go!"

"As you wish, Oogami-sama." The three men then vanished as quickly as they had arrived.

"They're here, nii-san," his brother said, his hand gesturing at the distance, where Kazuki saw five columns of light descended from the Dark Sun itself, each bearing a different color, red, brown, cerulean, green and black. When their bases reached the ground, they began to thin until they were no more. What was left were five Orochi Heads whose bodies simmered with the power of the dark. Four of them were women whose ages ranged from around eighteen to thirty, each and every one of them pretty enough to boil a man's blood. The final Follower Kazuki guessed to be a girl but couldn't be certain since her slender frame was completely cloaked by a cape black as the night and her face was obscured by a shadow that extended downward from her black hood. He shivered. The sense of power that radiated from her was so strong that he was under the impression that she could possibly match up to even a Priestess.

"I'm going ahead, nii-san," announced his little brother, in whose hand fine wires of lightning emerged and wove themselves into Raien the Sealed Sword.

He heaved a desperate sigh. "Be careful then, Souma. Don't lose." His tone left no doubt as to whom the Seventh Head should not lose to.

"I'll try not to." The boy barked a mirthless laughter before he leapt off the top of the stair and glided in the hot air toward the Orochi Heads. _Protect Himeko,_ his voice lingered behind.

Slowly descending on the stone steps, Kazuki brought his hands together and chanted a few lines of incantations. His usual yukata then changed into the High Priest outfit that he always wore during every ceremony. It was the clothes that had been handed to every leader of the Oogami Clan. It was what had been soaked in the holy aura of the Gods. It was the sacred armor prepared just for this day, when the entire Onogoro was once again at stake.

As soon as he crossed the final step of the stair, he raised his hand overhead and projected a white orb of light from his palm into the dark heavens. It was his signal to the Protectors and the Shingetsu Priests that the battle that would decide the fate of the world had jus begun.

* * *

Eyeing each of the Followers who now stood in front of him, Oogami Souma demanded coldly, "What does a rag-tag army of the Dark God want with Shingetsu?" His gaze stopped at the person on the far right. The Eighth Head, a girl swathed in a black cape with a deep hood and a swirling shadow that hid all but her emerald eyes, paid absolutely no attention to him. She seemed to be lost in thoughts. He was almost tempted to launch a surprise attack on her just so he could remove the most powerful of the surviving Followers. He rejected the idea, however, when he figured out that the moment he went for the girl in the black cape would be the one in which the other five tore him into pieces. 

"Your ego still has not deflated one bit," commented Nekoko the Sixth Head.

It was then that he noticed a peculiarity. The eyes of the oldest of the Orochi, a darkly tanned woman whom he recognized to be the same person who had attacked Himeko on her birthday, were red and swollen as though she had spent the night before in tears. More peculiarities. The Fourth Head, who had dressed scandalously the first time he saw her, now wore a simple T-shirt and a pair of worn-out jeans. Her hair was messy, her eyes were also swollen, and she kept glancing longingly at the Fifth Head. Even more peculiarities. The wielder of Asayuki was no longer the icy woman that he remembered. Now, she just seemed sad, exhausted, and determined not to look at the other girl.

_What's with them?_ he thought. _Have they gone mad?_

"I think his ego is fine, ladies," remarked his brother in a pleasant voice as he approached them. The man had donned his High Priest outfit and was now brimming with power.

"Just two of you against the five of us?" the Eighth Head spoke for the first time since her arrival. Her voice, carefully disguised, was cold and heavy with contempt. "Now I see where your little brother got his attitude from."

"We're brothers, after all," the older man said, smiling.

"I had thought that we would have some challenge by coming here," the Sixth Head smirked, "but it seems that we can just walk in and seize the Priestess."

"What gives you the notion that you can even step _one_ step into Shingetsu, fallen one?" As if his cool reply was a summons, a great dome of light was erected at the very heart of the Grand Shrine and expanded until it enveloped the entire structure. Souma shivered. Although he was at least ten feet away from the barrier's edge, he could still feel its power pulsing like the heartbeat of the world, ever trying to push him further away. "There are two hundred Priests and one hundred fifty Protectors of the Swords sustaining this barrier," the High Priest continued. "Try to break it if you can."

Nekoko laughed and said, "Do you truly believe that a Head, a human, and measly barrier can stop us?"

"I do." Kazuki-nii-san nodded. "In fact, I daresay that all of you will draw your last breath before you can touch the Priestess of the Sun."

"Such confidence from only a lowly servant of Izumo. You amaze me, High Priest," said a cool voice from high above them that sent fury ripping across Souma's body. He knew that it was Kannazuki Aoi before he looked up to the heavens and saw the blue-haired girl sitting cross-legged on a Moon Crest with her chin propped atop her right hand. Her lips were curved upward in a contemptuous smile. Her sapphire eyes were boring at his brother's face. She made his blood boil. There was no doubt that she was the strongest of all the people who were currently present. With her here, the future of this Shrine didn't look so good. He knew the first person that he had to remove was her.

"I am also amazed that you have the courage to show your face to me again, traitor," said the older man in a heated voice.

"Traitor?" The renegade Priestess of the Moon gave a silvery laughter. "To be called that by _you_ of all people..."

Souma decided to stop listening and attack, for he knew that there could be no better chance then when Kannazuki Aoi was distracted. In less than a heartbeat, he dug his heels into the soft ground, lowered his body, and leapt upward with the tip of Raien aimed straight for her throat. He changed his mind when he was half-way to where she was, however, for a voice in the back of his head reminded him that they needed her blood to summon Ame no Murakumo. As a result, he swerved the Lightning Blade to his left so that his target was now her right arm. If he managed to deprive her of a way to wield Kagetsuki's full power, she would no longer be a threat.

"No, Souma!" he heard his brother cry out in a horrified and urgent voice. "Don't!"

_Why not?_ he thought and concentrated his mind on incapacitating the most dangerous foe of the Human World. His blood froze the instant he saw that Kannazuki Aoi had already turned her head to face him. Before his blade could touch her flesh, her right sleeve rose upward in a white blur and brought Raien to an abrupt halt. His jaw fell. The Priestess's erected palm, a fraction of an inch away from the Sword's tip and wreathed in a protective layer of silver light, was what had stopped the weapon from touching her. He had not known that she could do that. The second shock came when he discovered that not just Raien, but his entire body, had fallen under her control. He couldn't twitch even a muscle. Horror rose in him.

"I would teach you another lesson for your impunity, Oogami Souma," said the blue-haired girl, "but the Second Head would not be pleased were I to do that." Her smile grew broader and much more malicious. "He is all yours, Girochi Miyako." At the moment Aoi's final word was uttered, her hand delivered a force great enough to level mountains along Raien's blade and hurled his body toward the ground, where the darkly tanned woman was waiting with her eyes blazing with anger, her mouth snarling some unintelligible words, and her hands clutching Rekkyou the Fire Blade.

_"Die, Oogami Souma!"_ shrieked the Orochi, who leapt into the air while baring her Sword.

With a simple turn of his wrist, he managed to bring Raien in front of him just in time to deflect Rekkyou. After a loud clashing sound accompanied by a shower of flying sparks, Souma and Miyako, he believed that was her name, stood on the ground and glared at each other with open animosity on her part and a little bit on respect on his. According to the aftershock that he had felt after he crossed sword with her, he knew that she possessed a physical might that nearly matched his. He hadn't expected that from any Follower aside from his now deceased Tsubasa-nii-san and the Eighth Head.

Before he could think any further, the Second Head lunged at him and brought her blade down his head. To his surprise, her strength kept on rising after every sword stroke she dealt and after every single time he pushed her back with Raien. Meanwhile, she never stopped snarling and screaming at him as though she was insane. She made him feel queasy. A few minutes after their fight was renewed, he began to think that perhaps the chance of him winning was not so great.

* * *

"What is your next order, Priestess?" asked Saotome Makoto, who was staring pointedly at the girl who called herself Kannazuki Aoi, who had landed on her feet upon the ground after pitching the Seventh and the Second Heads against each other. "Or should I address you as Commander?" Upon learning that Tsubasa the First Head had died of a sword wound near Shingetsu, the Dark God had decided to promote the Priestess of the Moon to the post of Commander of the Orochi. Of course, no one cared about that – Girochi Miyako was too grief-stricken to even attend the audience while Korona and Oota Reiko were too engrossed in pursuing their own thoughts that perhaps they didn't even know what Yamata no Orochi was saying – except the cat-fanatic Nekoko, began to mutter angrily under her breath as soon as she realized that her mortal enemy was now her superior. 

"You and the Sixth Head will proceed to obliterate the barrier," Aoi said, her eyes following the ragged path that Oogami Souma and the surviving Girochi were carving in the sky. As far as Makoto was concerned, the former had been forced into total defense while being shocked by the latter's unrelenting attacks. Probably never in his wildest dream did he ever imagine that a Follower other than his precious elder brother could give him so much trouble in a melee combat. Not that Makoto was surprised. If the thirst for revenge could turn the weakest and meekest person into a monster, it certainly could grant the Second Head, who had lost all meanings to live in life, the power to surpass that of the Seventh. "We cannot have it standing, can we?" the blue-haired girl continued after a while. She then glanced and smiled at Oogami Kazuki, who tightened his mouth in response. "And since the High Priest will surely get in your way, I will ask the Fourth and the Fifth to keep him company."

"Very considerate of you," muttered the man. Makoto suspected that the mangaka, who was glaring at her new Commander with a sour face and tight lips, had wanted to say the same thing. The pop idol, on the other hand, contented herself with simply gazing at her lover with teary eyes.

"How about you?" Makoto gave the Priestess a look. "What are you going to do?"

"I shall be waiting on the Moon," replied the blue-haired girl, who turned and walked away from Shingetsu Grand Shrine, the hem of her hibakama and the long, wide sleeves of her chihaya trailing after her in the winds. "I will leave everything in your hand, Eighth Head." A spark of silver light appeared a few feet in front of her and elongated into a thin shaft which then spun vertically about its center to form a silvery surface of a Dimensional Portal.

"You're making us do all the work!" Makoto pointed out almost heatedly.

"There is no need for me to lift a hand." Kannazuki Aoi stopped an inch in front of the Portal and glanced at her over the shoulder. The girl's face was very cold. "Furthermore, my task lies elsewhere, as you have already known." With that, she proceeded to enter the silvery surface. As soon as she disappeared, it thinned back into a vertical shaft of white light and melted into nothingness.

Thinking to herself that the renegade Priestess must have developed a taste for standing on top of the world, Makoto looked at the cat-fanatic Nekoko and then tossed her head at the great dome of light encompassing Shingetsu before she lifted her body high into the air. Acknowledging the command with a grudging nod – Makoto doubted the Sixth Head liked to take orders from anybody aside from her liege lord and maybe not even him – the wielder of the Wind Blade followed her all the way to the very top of the barrier. Oogami Kazuki tried to stop them but to no avail, for the Fourth and Fifth Heads had already drawn their Swords and barred his path.

Her body suspended in the air a few hundred feet above the Grand Shrine, she began to deploy her powers. First, a little sphere of pure shadow small as a fingertip appeared at the tip of her right foot and grew larger until it reached the size of a man's hand. Space itself began to ripple like the surface of a pond disturbed by a rock. At a snap of her finger, six identical Tasogare emerged tips first from the sphere and revolved like the spokes of a spinning wheel even when they were still drifting further and further away from the center. The quicker they turned, the more the black sphere expanded, and the more violently the dimensional fabrics flexed. When the sphere had grown enough to be able to engulf her body, the Swords ceased their movements, and space grew calm once more.

Makoto glanced sideways and found the Sixth Head of the Orochi, who were on the side of the great dome of protective light, weaving massive tornadoes in the sky with Arashigumo the Wind Blade. Like gigantic drills the funnel-shaped columns of howling winds and dust-ridden clouds descended upon the barrier in an attempt to rip it apart. Smiling, she snapped her fingers again and turned the great sphere of shadow into a pillar that slammed upon the protective layer in a thunderous roar.

No one could have realized that what she just did had entirely no effect on the barrier of Shingetsu. What it was doing, in fact, was suppressing the Sixth Head power in secret and thus reducing her spell's effectiveness by a little more than ninety-nine percents. She doubted Nekoko would ever imagine that her seemingly powerful tornadoes were simply sucking in the dust from the protective barrier. This way, Makoto's beloved Himeko would have a little more time in drawing out the remaining Eye of Heaven. This way, she could use it later to pierce Kannazuki Aoi's heart and summoned the Sword God Ame no Murakumo.

* * *

Standing in the control room of the Rosenkyuu with her eyes on the great holographic screen at least forty feet from diagonal to diagonal and her hands clasped behind her back, Izanami the Regent of the Underworld smiled in satisfaction. The numerical figures and various kinds of graph on the other screens in the room suggested that everything was going well according to plan. 

"Power distribution, normal," announced Tsukazaki Haruhi, whose fingers were rapping madly on her holographic keyboard. "All preparations, complete. All systems, all green. Piercing Five, stand by and ready."

"Susanou no Mikoto, in position," reported the young Chancellor's twin, Tsukazaki Fuyura, who sat to her right. "Final phase of Operation Providence Breaker, initiated. We may begin at any time, my Lady." The raven-haired girl, who often wore a pair of crystal earrings in the shape of snowflakes as opposed to her sister's emerald leaflets, turned and gave Izanami a sweet smile. Her obsidian eyes seemed to glow with fondness and excitement.

"Thank you, chi..." She bit back the last word and swallowed it. _Bad habit,_ she thought ruefully afterwards. Although she had been addressing her trusted Chancellor as _"child"_ since the beginning of her employment in the Rosenkyuu, the girl was at least a thousand years her junior, she had realized just now that it would be very cruel to and disrespectful continue doing so to someone who had confessed her love for her. Besides, it was not exactly appropriate anyway. Despite their age difference, Izanami still looked young enough to be Fuyura's elder sister when they walked side by side.

She glanced at the younger Tsukazaki, who in turn colored slightly when their eyes met, and felt mildly surprised by how her perception of the raven-haired girl had changed in such a short period of time. Before, she saw the Chancellor as a girl, if an exceptionally pretty one, barely older than her own daughter the Goddess of the Moon, a youngling she needed to protect, and last but not least, a very effective employee. Now, she began to view Fuyura as a grown woman who deserved more respect than what she had treated her with before. Now, she started to notice what kind of clothes or perfume her Chancellor wore to work everyday. Now, she paid more attention to how the raven-haired girl talked, smiled, and even yelled at the people who failed to do what she asked.

She guessed Fuyura's sincerity and persistence had moved her a little even though she had thought in the beginning that she did not share her daughter's peculiar preference in women. She could not help but eventually grow fond of someone who cared for her, who devoted their time and effort to make her happy, and who made her feel that she was loved.

_Maybe I should invite her to dinner tonight,_ she thought. It had been forever since she last dined with someone. She was fed up with the loneliness. She was tired of three thousand years of being a workaholic and having no life whatsoever. Maybe it was time for a change.

"Izanami-sama?" Haruhi cleared her throat and reminded Izanami that she had been staring openly at the other Chancellor in a roomful of people. "We await your order." She then glanced at her twin sister as her lips curved in a secretive smile. Fuyura blushed a sunset and took up a serious study of her keyboard while fiddling with her forefingers. _She knows,_ Izanami thought. There was no other explanation for Haruhi's behavior.

"Commence Operation Providence Breaker," she commanded. "Release the Piercing Five."

"Yes, my Lady," responded every mouth in the control room. It was odd that even amidst the voices of three hundred Immortals, she could still pick out Fuyura's. It was soft, it was sweet, and it had a caress that she knew was meant for her even without the surreptitious glance that the raven-haired girl gave afterwards.

"Garnet Drive, Amethyst Drive, Emerald Drive, Selenite Drive, Sapphire Drive, in position," announced Tsukazaki Haruhi.

"Sealing Field Dispenser Ring, engaged," said an Immortal whose name she could not remember.

"Dimension Breaker, construction complete," reported Fuyura.

"Power output, maximum," Izanami raised her hand overhead and brought it down in a decisive gesture. "Fire!"

The thunderous roar that immediately followed shook the entire Underworld.

* * *

While treading along the hallway leading toward his office, Yuusaku the Chief Messenger massaged his temples while wondering why he couldn't remember a thing he did since he first stepped into the Heavenly Palace. It was as though there was a gap in his memories. A blank spot on a piece of paper that had words written everywhere else. It was unnatural, he decided. Mortals might suffer from memory loss, but not Immortals, for their bodies were immune against natural sicknesses. Now if only he could figure out why this was happening to _him_ of all people... 

His final step brought him in front of a pair of steel doors each engraved with a half of a pentacle inscribed in a circle. It was the entrance to the headquarters of the Holy Messenger Division, Home of all spies. Putting the thoughts of his sudden amnesia out of his head, he placed his palm upon the blinking sensor plate on the right side of the doors and let it read his Power ID. A second later, the tall steel slabs slid sideways into the walls and revealed a vast chamber that could hold at least a thousand people at the same time. As he walked inside, his eyes fell upon state-of-the-art computers arranged in circles within circles the center of which was marked by a column of crystal that spanned ten feet in radius. It was the user interface of the pride of the Division. It was called the Divine Terminal, the means through which the Messengers could communicate with Izumo's oversight mechanism, the Kusanagi Mainframe, also the most powerful computer in the Three Worlds.

"Good morning, Chief," greeted his subordinates, men in long-sleeved snowy capes who stood up from their seats and bowed deeply to him as they noticed his arrival.

"Sit, sit," he said and waved to them absently. The men then went back to what they were doing before he entered. Some continued making phone calls, a few returned to hammering their keyboards and gluing their eyes at their monitors, several walked around the room to converse in a low voice with their colleagues, and a couple of them were snoring on their desks. He knew the two men. They had been part of a team of Messengers that he sent to Shingetsu yesterday to keep the Underworld spies from uncovering Yukihito's secret. When they came back to headquarters last night, they had been so exhausted that they fell asleep right then and there.

Yuusaku then walked to the heart of the room and began to inspect the content of the Divine Terminal. Its base was a miniature real-time holographic model of the Izumo, its length the entire Izumo's airspace. Once he was done and had decided that there were no abnormalities that he could see, he turned and walked toward his private office at the far side of the great chamber. Before he could make a second step, all the alarms suddenly went off and startled him so violently he almost tripped on the hem of his own cape and fell. Spinning on his heel, he focused his attention back upon the Divine Terminal, in which he spotted something that left him flabbergasted.

"Yuusaku-sama!" one of his subordinates cried out in shock. "There are huge vibrations in the dimensional fabrics! Massive gate-in signal confirmed!"

The upper half of the Divine Terminal was now filled with storm clouds from which lightning flared and thunder roared every few seconds. Even without the Messenger's announcement, he could still see that the dimensional structure was being ripped to shred and the Boundary that separated Izumo from the other two Worlds being destroyed. _Who the hell has the power to do this?_ he thought in horror. The only thing that answered his question was a faint tremor in the ground and in the air, which was followed by a flash of white light that filled the entire chamber with its brilliance. Being the person closest to the crystal cylinder, Yuusaku thought that he would go blind.

"The Boundary has been breached!" cried another Messenger once the light had died down, who seemed to be on the verge of panic. "A Dimensional Portal has been opened! Something's coming through!"

When Yuusaku regained his sight, he spotted five large beams of light, each bearing a different color, come out of the lowest layer of storm clouds. In a blink of the eye, those beams struck the deserted outskirt of the Holy City and shockwaves after shockwaves ripping across the surface of Izumo. The resulting upheavals were so violent that quite a few Messengers ended up on their fronts or backs on the ground. Yuusaku himself would have shared the same fate had he not lifted himself up into the air in time to escape the tremors.

As soon as he looked at the Divine Terminal again to see what had happened, he saw that the cerulean sky had reopened. White clouds once again surfed the endless cerulean that had been presiding over Izumo since the beginning of the ages. What had changed, however, was the existence of five gigantic craters, ugly scars that the light beams earlier had left upon the City's outskirt. Higher floated five structures, all of which seemed to be carved out of gemstones, that resembled pyramids glued together at their base. And most shocking of all, an upside-down city was lying at the very top of the Divine Terminal. There was only one city in the Three Worlds that had a building built in the shape of a rose in its center. _The Rosenkyuu!_ he thought. _It's Reiha, Heart of the Underworld!_

_"Heaven has been invaded!"_ he cried at the top of his lungs._ "Activate the Kusanagi System and alert the Imperial Battalions, now!"_

Yuusaku did not know what was happening, or why, but as his liege lord's trusted aide and the man in charge of Heaven's defense, he was going to use the power of the Kusanagi System to raze the Heart of the Underworld to the ground!

* * *

"They are charging up the Twelve Kusanagi Pillars," announced Susanou no Mikoto, who was standing in front of the One Terminal with his twin brother, Kagutsuchi the God of Fire. After a look at one of the numerous holographic screens floating around them, he added, "Their target is the Piercing Five. In less than one minute, they will shoot." 

"Then it's time you do something to make sure that it won't," said the flame-haired man, who then proceeded to give Susanou a mischievous smile. "I would hate to see things as pretty as the gemstone Drives be destroyed by those ugly oversized needles."

"As you wish," he replied and sat down in front of the crystal block, into which he let his hands sink until they were wrist-deep inside. His eyes were now fixed at the Kannazuki Tower, which he had raised from the depth of the Memories Sea earlier to prepare for Operation Providence Breaker. The massive obelisk was nothing but a prison, yet it contained within itself something that was vital for what he was about to do. During the last three thousand years, he had used the budget from the Celestial Assembly to build in secret a computer that rivaled the Kusanagi Mainframe in term of processing power and then hid it beneath the Memories Sea.

"Computer, connect me to the Kusanagi Mainframe," he commanded.

_"Connection is established,"_ replied a dull voice from the crystal block, which glowed blue every time a word was uttered. _"Your order?" _

"Demand the Mainframe to relinquish all of its control upon the Kusanagi System immediately."

The voice fell silent for a few seconds before it spoke up again, _"A password is required. Please enter it now."_

_"5400139-ACO-7-WZ-2-IZANAGI,"_ he said with a smile. Behind him, the God of Fire let out a guttural laughter that reverberated endlessly in the Memories Hall. Earlier in the morning, the Celestial Assembly had summoned Yuusaku the Chief Messenger to the Sanctum Core. There, they used the mind-reading power that the structure had gifted them with to pull out the password to the Kusanagi System. There was no other way to obtain it, for the Lord of Izumo had cast such a spell on his most trusted aid that the password that only the two of them knew would not even appear in the latter's memories in the Kiokkai. Once it was over, the Arbiters had erased Yuusaku's memories just as they did the Messengers who followed Susanou and Kagutsuchi every day. That had been why the Division never realized that he and his twin brother had been hatching a rebellion during the last three millennia.

_"Password accepted,"_ acknowledged the One Terminal. _"We have now acquired all functions of the Kusanagi Mainframe. Your order?"_

This time, they both laughed. With a computer that was as strong as the Mainframe and the Mirror of Life as its power source, seizing control over the Kusanagi System was a piece of cake.

* * *

"What did you just say?" Yuusaku the Chief Messenger shouted at the man in the innermost circle who had just made an announcement in a panicking voice. Either that his employee, whose name eluded him at the moment, had lost his mind or there was something wrong with Yuusaku's ears, for there was no way in hell it could be the truth. It was improbably that the System, which the Lord of Izumo designed himself and which Yuusaku had worked with during the last three thousand years without any incident, could malfunction. The truth that he placed upon Kusanagi was absolute. 

"Uh... well... Yuusaku-sama..." the other man stuttered, his face bloodless, his hands trembling, and his eyes shining with fear. "The twelve Pillars are... shutting down," he swallowed audibly before he could continue, "and the Mainframe refuses to start them back up."

This time, Yuusaku was certain that the Messenger he had just talked to was insane. _"Impossible!"_ he roared at the other man, who was so surprised that he fell off his seat.

"Actually, Toshiaki's right, Chief," said another Messenger, whom Yuusaku knew. His name was Shuuya, a very efficient Immortal who actually came to work early and only left after everybody else had. He was to be promoted to the post of a supervisor this month. "Don't you see? It has been five minutes already and the Kusanagi Pillars haven't fired yet." Everybody else in the chamber was nodding their head in agreement.

Yuusaku's mouth hung open in shock. He realized that what his subordinate just told him was the truth. In the Divine Pillars, the twelve steel obelisks were as silent when they should be humming their deadly melody and unleashing the sacred lightning upon the strange structures that had invaded the airspace of the Holy City. _Something is wrong!_ he thought. _But what?!_

_Tch, I'll deal with it later,_ he decided angrily. _Defending Izumo comes first._

"Where's the Army?" he rounded on Shuuya, who took his loud and angry words as calmly as sunshine while the other men around him shied back. "Why aren't they mobilized yet?"

"Sir, the military camps are in disarray right now," the Messenger replied calmly. "They can't move out without their High Commanders, who are nowhere to be seen."

_"What?"_ Yuusaku exploded._ "Where the hell are they?"_

"I regret to say that I don't know, sir," the other man said with a shake of his head. "The two Messengers whom we ordered to follow them today did not respond when I tried to contact them."

_"Damn it!"_ Yuusaku cursed. The good-for-nothing sons of his liege lord had to be hiding somewhere in Izumo right now, for their duty forbade them to leave the Holy City without written permissions from the Ruler of Heaven, none of which had been issued during the last three weeks. The only problem was why they hadn't come back to their respective headquarters and taken control of their Battalions so they could face the impending threat.

All of a sudden, a wave of nausea seized him and turned his limbs to water. Head spinning, body shaking, he fell onto all four while sensing his celestial power being drained from him at a neck-breaking speed. Soon, even his physical strength was gone as his arms and legs gave in at the same time and landed him flat on his stomach. There he could only tremble and watch his subordinates falling down one by one without being able to say a single word. In less than a minute, there was no one left standing in the headquarters of the Messenger Division. As his eyes fell on the Divine Pillar, he saw that a rain of sparkling stars was falling upon the roofs of the Holy City. It suddenly dawned on him what those sparks could be. _The petals of the Crystal Roses!_ he thought in horror. _They've imposed a Sealing Field on us!_

"Good day, ladies," a man's voice, which sounded very familiar, announced and shattered the silence that had hung inside the vast chamber since Yuusaku first felt the crippling effect of the Sealing Field. Straining his eyes, he tried to catch a glimpse of the entrance. Once he did, his breath caught. The man who just spoke was none other than Susanou no Mikoto the God of Storms, who was accompanied by his twin brother, Kagutsuchi the God of Fire, neither showing any sign that they were under the influence of the Crystal Roses.

"You... you!" Yuusaku muttered weakly, fury rippling along his nerves.

"Yes, I," replied the dark-haired man in a pleasant voice. The flame-haired one only gave a quiet chuckle as they approached the Divine Terminal. The way the two High Immortals walked over the Messengers who were lying helplessly on the floor, the latter could have been wooden logs.

_"Traitors!"_ Yuusaku spat angrily.

"Traitors?" The God of Storms smiled before he snapped his fingers and summoned a chair to his side. On it he sat, swung one leg over another comfortably, and propped his chin atop his right hand, appearing to be enjoying himself immensely. "On what ground do you level that charge against us?" Amusement racked his voice.

_"You sabotaged the Kusanagi System!"_ Yuusaku gathered his strength and shouted.

"Sabotage?" The God of Storms laughed. "Please, I simply told it to _not_ fire." His dark eyes, which had been peering down upon Yuusaku since the beginning, glittered maliciously. "_This,_ however, is what you call sabotage." He took out his PDA and pressed on one key before he spoke in a loud and carrying voice, "Computer."

_"Awaiting order,"_ a monotonous voice replied. Yuusaku couldn't help but gasp aloud. He had heard that voice a few times when he visited the Hall of Memories. It belonged to the One Terminal, the mechanism that possessed all the functions to control the Memories Sea. _So that's what he used to hack into the Divine Terminal!_ he thought bitterly._ I should have known!_

"Activate self-destruction function for the Kusanagi Pillars," the dark-haired son of the Lord of Izumo said with his eyes riveted on Yuusaku's face. Standing next to the man, Kagutsuchi began to laugh in his usual gruff, loud, and guttural voice. During his long life, Yuusaku had never seen someone who was more hateful and cruel than the sons of the man he had sworn to serve. "Countdown time, ten seconds. And do not bother to ask for confirmation."

_"No!"_ Yuusaku screamed. _"No!" _Had he been able to move a muscle on his body, he would have leapt at Susanou no Mikoto and strangled him to death.

_"Ten... nine... eight..."_ counted the voice that came out from the God of Storms' PDA. Slowly, dully, but inexorably it continued while Yuusaku felt himself sinking a little closer toward the Underworld with every word that it spoke. The only thing that he could do was screaming out and begging the dark-haired man to stop. He never did._ "One."_ Yuusaku's heart stopped beating.

The miniatures of twelve Kusanagi Pillars inside the crystal cylinder that was the Divine Terminal glowed white like molten metal for only an instant before they crumbled downward and swept a dust storm across the Holy City. Yuusaku thought that he was watching a part of him die.

"When the Lord comes back, he's going to kill you!"he said in a strangled voice afterwards. There was no longer any strength left in him to scream at the man who had utterly destroyed the System, something that had been under his care for the last three thousand years.

"When he comes back, he's going to _regret_ ever leaving Izumo," said Kagutsuchi, smiling. His twin brother nodded. Yuusaku, on the other hand, was speechless. They were speaking the truth, he knew. If the Ruler of Heaven returned, the only thing he would accomplish was getting caught in the vicious Sealing Field.

"What kind of sons are you, betraying your own father like that?" he snarled.

"My loyalty to him died long ago," answered the dark-haired man in a voice cold as the heart of winter, "when he destroyed the happiness of my sisters and my little brother. I will never forgive him for that." He snapped his fingers. An invisible force then lifted Yuusaku into the air and pulled his limbs apart as though it was going to have him drawn and quartered. A deathly chill slithered down his spine. "But mind you, vengeance is not the reason why I went through all the trouble to seize control of Izumo."

"You lying bastard!" he shouted. "I know you just want the Heaven Throne for yourself!"

"That throne interests me not," said the God of Storms in disgust.

"Why else would you destroy the Pillars and disable the army?!" Yuusaku fired back. "You just wanted to wipe out all opposition."

"Contrary to what may choose to believe, insect of a Messenger," the dark-haired High Immortal gave him a look sharper than a butcher's knife. It shut him up, "I destroyed Kusanagi because it was just a tool father used to suppress us. And for your information, the Sealing Field's true target has never been the army. It was the Mirror of Life." His mouth twisted in distaste at the name.

"You're trying to cut off Inochi no Kagami's power supply!" Yuusaku gasped.

"Why, you are smarter than you look, Yuusaku," commented the God of Storms in a mocking tone. Next to him, Kagutsuchi chuckled as though he had heard a fine joke.

"But why?!"

"There is no need for you to know." Susanou no Mikoto rose to his feet. "What you should know, however, is what is going to happen to you. Say, Chief Messenger, do you not see how familiar this situation is?" His dark eyes glittered again. In there Yuusaku could see dancing sparks of anger and hatred.

"What the hell do you mean?!"

"A month ago you and your pathetic subordinates ganged up on my sister the Goddess of the Moon, sealed her, and hurt her." The dark-haired man reached out his hand, grabbed Yuusaku's hair, and jerked his head upward. He could only cry out in pain. "Yui-nee-san punished you... but we did not think that she did enough. Am I right, Kagutsuchi-san?" His last few words came out as fierce snarls.

"Absolutely, Susanou," replied the God of Fire in a voice no friendlier. The right arm of the other High Immortal was blazing like the fire that was his hair. His eyes were burning coals. "You need not worry too much, though, Chief Messenger," the title was invested with scorn and a staggering amount of hatred, "you're not going to die from this. After all, death is too much of a mercy for someone like you." His smile was but a hateful show of teeth.

Before long, Yuusaku began to wish that they had killed him instead.

* * *

Caught in a ground battle with the Shingetsu High Priest, Oota Reiko could only groan in frustration. It had been half an hour since the battle first started, yet she never succeeded in killing the man. In the beginning, she had thought that since she was a powerful spell caster who was aided by a fearsome Sealed Sword, it would only take her less than five minutes to overwhelm Oogami Kazuki and destroy him. She was wrong. The man deflected every spell she hurled at him, blocked her every sword stroke, and several times came dangerously close to knocking Asayuki out of her hand. Had Reiko not known better, she would have thought her opponent was an Orochi himself. _It does not make sense!_ she thought in exasperation. 

_"Ice World's Guardian, Asayuki,"_ she intoned as she pulled back to evade a storm of fire droplets spilling out from the High Priest's palm. At her command, the thin but razor-sharp blade of Asayuki separated itself into three shafts that ultimately formed a vertically spinning triangle. Within its boundary was a blazing plate of white light. _"Frozen frame!"_ she shouted.

A thick rod of light emerged from the spinning plate and headed straight toward Oogami Kazuki. Should he be hit, he would become a block of ice until she chose to thaw him. If she chose to thaw him.

"Do not be naïve, Orochi!" said her opponent, in whose hand appeared a sword of coruscating golden light, which he lashed upward to meet her attack. After a loud explosion, the beam of white light changed its direction abruptly and soared into the dark heavens which were ruled by the silver moon and the Dark Sun. The sight left Reiko speechless. Never once in her life did she imagine that a mortal man could deflect her strongest spell without breaking a drop of sweat.

"You underestimated me, Orochi," remarked the High Priest, his eyes on her, his blazing sword pointing in her direction.

"Where did you get this power?" she asked wonderingly. The answer came to her an instant later, when she noticed for the first time that the man had undergone some dramatic changes in his appearance during the last half hour. His hair now had three times the amount of gray hair as he did before, wrinkles were creasing his once smooth forehead, and his face had grown so haggard that Reiko was under the impression that the man had aged at least a dozen years. Then the answer crashed down on her. "Life force combustion!" she breathed. "I thought that art was lost!"

"Apparently not," said Oogami Kazuki.

Life force combustion was an ancient method that allowed its practitioners to receive an instant inhuman boost in magical powers in exchange for their own life force. According to the old records that she had a chance to read, there were humans who grew from a young man to a crippling old one in less than a few hours because of the method. She never thought that she would see it in action someday.

"You are insane," she said coldly. "You will die before you can defeat me."

"I think not." The man shook his head. "It is you who is going to die."

"The Priestess was right about you and your suicidal confidence," she scoffed. "Well then. Let us see who will emerge victorious in the end." She assumed her attacking stance and raised her Sword. Soon, the High Priest would grow so old he would no longer have the strength to stand... if he did not kill himself first.

"I suggest that you should rid yourself of your worries before you fight, Follower," he said, his mouth's corners quirking upward in a mocking smile. "Without full concentration, you will die under my sword." He glanced sideways at a battle that raged more than a few hundred feet away from them. Reiko's fists immediately clenched in anger.

All a normal human could see was the Fourth Head swinging her Chiseizaha around herself as though she was trying to cut thin air. Reiko's enhanced vision showed that three shadows were moving at incredible speed around the girl and taking advantage of any opening they noticed. They were very efficient at that, she realized. The clothes Korona wore were now tattered with cuts and dyed crimson by her own blood. Should this be allowed to go on, the young woman would die before she could strike down any one of her foes. Reiko doubted that the pop idol could, in any case. The Earth Blade, being a low-speed weapon, required time and concentration to release its fearsome might. Priests who moved faster than the eyes could see were not enemies Korona could defeat. Knowing that, Reiko had been driven nearly insane with fear since the battle started. It was the reason why she could not concentrate on her own fight with the High Priest.

"You know what is going to happen," Oogami Kazuki said. "My subordinates are going to tear her apart."

"Three grown men against one girl! Have you no shame?!" Reiko could not help but shout after hearing those words.

"You are in no position to require fair play from us, Orochi," the High Priest pointed out in a cold manner. "We are not so foolish that we would honor the code of honor and duel you one on one so that you can kill us all and destroy this peaceful land."

Words died in her throat.

"I'll make you an offer, Orochi," the man continued. "You know that you can't win against me while worrying yourself to death about that young lady over there. Surrender and we'll spare you both."

"I do not need your offer." She laughed at him contemptuously. "I care not about her. I will not even blink if she drops dead right here and now." Sometimes, she wished that saying a lie could make it truth.

"Oh really?" Oogami Kazuki smirked before he raised his voice so that it carried to where the Fourth Head was battling the swift shadows. _"Saiki, Yuuji, Furin. Kill her." _Reiko's heart sank into her stomach.

In a heartbeat after those words had been uttered, the three shadows materialized into three men, whose hair were as white as snow and whose faces were so scrawny that they were the closet thing to a naked skull, standing around the pop idol. Faster than the eye could follow, they then lunged directly at her. One of them caught her left wrist and her left ankle. Another did the same thing to her right. The last one had the girl's neck locked in his arms. From the Fourth Head's bloodless face and her bulging eyes, Reiko knew that the man was trying to wring his target's neck off. Her head went blank.

_"Korona, no!"_ Reiko screamed at the same time she rushed toward them. Before she could move more than a few feet, the Shingetsu High Priest had appeared in front of her and swung his sword at her in a horizontal arc. A few strands of hair, sliced off from the fringe brushing her forehead, fell prey to the cold winds of October. Reiko swallowed in horror after she leapt backward and put at least a dozen feet between them. Had the man wanted, he could have cut off the top of her forehead and killed her in one blow.

"From the very beginning, your eyes had been seeking the girl and making sure she was safe even if it distracted you from your own battle," he said with his sword pointing directly at her throat. "A blind man can tell how deeply you care for her. There is no need to pretend otherwise." His eyes gleamed with amusement and sympathy. It had been the first time that a mortal looked at her that way, she thought.

"Choose, Orochi Head," the High Priest continued, his eyes digging at Reiko and urging her to respond. "Surrender or watch your beloved die."

"Choose? You never gave me a choice," she answered bitterly as she turned her head and looked at Korona, whose eyes were trying to jump out of their sockets, whose mouth was opened wide like that of a fish caught out of water, whose body was thrashing violently even though her arms and legs were caught in the men's arms. The sight ripped Reiko's soul into pieces. "I surrender," she said in resignation and let go of the Sealed Sword in her hand. Freed, Asayuki plunged into the soft ground until all that was visible above the surface was it hand guard and hilt.

"Very well." The sword of golden light in the High Priest's hand then extended and buried its tip in her heart. She could only let out a wordless scream before its power seared into her skin, invaded every corner of her body, locked away her powers, and ultimately pulled her down onto her knees. She knew that she had been sealed. Now, she was just a normal woman who was unable to wield her own Sealed Sword. Everything was over. "Stop," the man raised his voice at his three subordinates, who immediately ceased their attempt to murder Korona. He then walked to them, used his sword to seal the Fourth Head the way he did hers, before he commanded them to release her.

Once she was freed, the Fourth Head collapsed onto her knees on the ground, put her hands around her throat, and began to choke painfully while gasping for breath. After a while, Reiko rose to her feet, crossed the distance, and knelt back down by the girl's side. There, she trembled. There, she sensed her heart ache.

"Are you alright, Reiko?" asked Korona, who gazed up at her with a pair of emerald eyes filled with concern. "Did he hurt you anywhere?" Those words, simple but heartfelt, moved her so greatly tears started trickling down her face. Despite being wounded badly by the Priests, the first thing other woman had asked after was Reiko's wellbeing instead of her own. Natsune had been the only person in this lonely world who cared for her with such devotion.

"Silly Korona, stupid Korona," she whispered in her tearful voice before she pulled the Fourth Head into her arms and claimed her lips. The latter stiffened in shock for a few heartbeats before she put her arms around Reiko's back and returned the kiss with all her heart and soul. She could feel warmth and love pouring into her. She could hear the sound of the eternal wall of ice she built around her heart crumbling into pieces. As their mouth eventually broke apart, her hand rose to touch the girl's throat and caressed it in the hope that it could ease her pain. "My precious Korona," she cried softly. Since she chased the girl out of her room the day before, her heart had been hurting so badly she only wished she could rip it out and crush it.

"Reiko..." the girl called before she buried her face in Reiko's chest and wept openly.

She was aware that she had broken the vow she made to her first love. She realized that she had betrayed the promise she had given Natsune. She knew she was not worthy of forgiveness. If there was indeed a fiery hell, she would definitely go there after she died and suffer for time eternal. Yet, right now she did not care. Now, she had in her arms the girl she loved, who loved her more than she loved herself. There was nothing else she could wish for. There was nothing else she possibly wanted. She did not need immortality. She no longer wished to carry out her vengeance upon the world. All she desired right now... was a happy life that she could spend by the side of the one she loved.

* * *

Oogami Souma grimaced as he narrowly evaded a column of flame that shot from above his head. Up there, Girochi Miyako was still snarling and continuing to throw vicious spells after vicious spells at him. Judging by the way the woman had been doing that for the last thirty minutes without stopping, she seemed to have an endless supply of magical energy. He found himself wishing that he also had one. If he did, he would not have to conserve his power and run from her fierce assaults even though he knew he was stronger than her. He only wondered how much longer it was going to take before she was exhausted. 

_"Stop running away, murderer!"_ the Second Head shrieked at him as the tip of the Fire Blade in her hand made a spiral dash for his head. _"Fight and meet your end!"_

"Murderer?" he answered in sheer disbelief. "You are in no position to say that to me. And who did I kill anyway?!" He bent his wrist and swung Raien around to block Rekkyou. The resultant impact was so great that it rocked his arm and sent his body diving toward the earth. Only when he was a few feet from cracking his head upon the ground did he regain his balance and stop his neck-breaking descent. Before he could heave a sigh of relief, he saw the darkly tanned woman rushing at him again from above, her sword wreathed in fire.

"My brother!" The flame obscuring her blade extended toward him.

Hastily, Souma brought the Lightning Blade overhead then brought it down upon the ground beneath his feet. At the moment of contact, the ground exploded and provided him with a force strong enough to hurl him upward as fast as the Orochi woman had sent him rushing down. As he stationed himself in the air afterwards, he saw her standing between two smoking craters of equal size of different depth. The shallower of them was made by Raien, the deeper, Rekkyou.

"I don't even know your brother!" he exclaimed.

"His name is Tokiya, the Orochi Third Head," she snarled. "He was this Sword's master! Lord of the Seven Seas, come forth, Suikyou!" She raised her vacant hand, from the fingertips of which water gushed out in rays. They then gathered into her palm and solidified into a Sword the blade of which was as shiny as any mirror. _The Water Blade!_ he thought. _She's referring to the man in the black suit!_ A second later, all thoughts abandoned him as he felt shock ripple along his nerves. He did not know that a Follower could wield two Swords at the same time. Before he could overcome his shock, the other Orochi soared toward him, both Elemental Blades in her hands seeking to cut him into pieces.

"That's right, I killed him," he said as he leapt sideways to prevent the Fire and Water Blades from dismembering him. "But aren't you a bit... late?" he mocked. For crying out loud, he killed the Orochi _last month_. _What kind of sister would seek revenge _now he thought.

_"How dare you!"_ the woman bellowed in midair and flung her arms to either side. Rekkyou and Suikyou shone ominously at the same time.

Curved blades of fire and water emerged from nowhere and came at him in successive waves. Seeing how they had blocked all his escape routes, he decided to take them head on instead of dodging them. As his powers streamed into the Lightning Blade, a spherical barrier woven from purple lightning sprang up around him. At first, when he saw that the fire and water blades easily bounced off the protective layer, he told himself that he had made the right choice. A second later, when the Orochi Second Head descended upon him and ground the tips of her Blades upon his barrier, he knew that he had made a terrible mistake. By deciding not to evade, he had turned himself into an unmoving target for the darkly tanned woman.

_"Die, Oogami Souma!" _she roared while trying to pierce the lightning layer with her Swords. She seemed to be succeeding as the barrier woven with his power began to shake. _"Die!" _His defense was shattered as soon as the word left the woman's mouth. The explosion that followed immediately slammed his back painfully upon the ground. It was nothing short of a miracle that he still managed to hold on to his Raien afterwards.

"Your life ends here, Seventh Head," announced Girochi Miyako, who towered over him with Swords in hands. "Now pay for what you have done to my brother!" She brought down the Elemental Blades.

Souma knew that even if he used Raien to parry Rekkyou and Suikyou, he could only delay their combined force for a few seconds before all three Swords came down on him and turned him into minced meat. _If one is not enough... how about two?_ a thought occurred to him at the instant when the edges of the Fire and Water Blades were an inch away from his head.

_"Lord of the Hallow Stars, come forth!"_ he bellowed. _"Hokuto!" _

White light, pure as snow and brighter than noonday, flashed. When it faded away, Souma was lying on his back with Lightning Blade in his right hand and the Star Blade in his left. The Orochi Second Head, who seemed to have been hurled away by the force released at the emergence of Hokuto, was lying on her front a dozen feet away and screaming with her hands over her eyes. On either of her sides were Suikyou and Rekkyou, the blades of which were reflecting the shadows of the silver moon and the Dark Sun.

As he scrambled back onto his feet, Souma began to marvel at the power that was coursing in his veins. However, his amazement soon turned into horror when the Lightning and the Star Blades began to resonate with one another in an eerie melody and send waves of fierce and sinister thoughts washing over him. His throat ran dry, his body grew hot, and his vision was dyed with a color too close to that of blood for his comfort. On his face, something was crawling and searing into him. Somewhere at the back of his head, a voice was raving in what seemed to be a chant of death and destruction. It was then that he remembered what the High Priest had told him about how the previous wielders of Hokuto and Raien had died.

Around him, winds were rising and the earth was trembling under the combined might of the Sealed Swords. He could feel the malice welling up in his soul. He could hear the voices of Raien and Hokuto beckoning to release their power upon the world. He could see his hands raising the Blades overhead. He could sense power surging inside them. He knew that in but an instant, they were going to destroy everything that he held dear._ Am I... going to go mad and attack everyone I know?_ he thought in horror and bitterness.

"No, you are not," a woman's voice answered in his head. Light flared in front of him and materialized into the beautiful girl in the white cape who had attempted to murder him two days ago. "Rather than letting the darkness consume you the way it did the foolish Priests years ago," she continued in her cold voice, her platinum eyes boring into his, "I am going to use you to smoke the Priestess of the Sun out. My patience grows thin, and time is short. I cannot wait any longer."

She placed her palm on his chest. It made her voice seem warm. "You are going to die soon, just as all Followers are supposed to," she said. "Yet for the service you are going to provide me with, you shall live a little longer." Her hand sank into his body... and he began to scream.

* * *

It had been hours since she first engaged in battle with the Shinken Seals but as far as Kurusugawa Himeko could see, she was not winning. Although she had poured all of her Priestess power into the task of pulling the Eyes of Heaven toward her, the sword refused to budge. Inside the golden sphere of light that was trapped in the middle of the eternal ice pillar it stayed, unmoving no matter how hard she beckoned it to, while its guardians, released their sacred lightning to protect it. Once, they came dangerously close to shearing her head off. Right now, she still shuddered when she recalled the deadly experience. 

When a lightning bolt struck the ground near where she stood, it created an explosion that hurled her off her feet. She fell down on her side upon the rocky floor and felt as though the bones in her right arm had been crushed. She wanted to cry in frustration and hopelessness. She did not want to admit it, but she honestly did not believe that she alone could summon the Eyes of Heaven and make her wish come true.

"Are you alright, child?" spoke a woman's warm and worried voice from above her. Looking up, she saw a young woman whose hand was extended toward her, whose hair was of the same color as hers but much shinier, whose body was clad in a snowy hagoromo that seemed to be coated with a transparent layer, and whose face was so breathtakingly beautiful that she would make the blue-haired princess look plain. At the sight of the newcomer, an oddly familiar feeling rose in Himeko's heart. For some reason, she had an inkling that she had known the woman for longer than she could remember. She wondered why.

"I'm... okay," she answered, took the woman's hand, and got back on her feet. It was only after that did she realize that someone had actually slipped inside the Enshrinement Chamber without her noticing. She blinked. And if she remembered correctly, the High Priest Oogami Kazuki did put guards along the stair and charge them with the duty to warn her beforehand should the Orochi manage to break through the final defense line. A chill ran down her spine. _Those guards... are not dead, are they?_ she thought.

As if she could sense Himeko's rising apprehension, the woman in the hagoromo smiled kindly at her and said, "You don't have to worry, little one. I mean you no harm."

"Who... are you?" Himeko asked, still very afraid. The sense of power that was radiating from the stranger told her that the woman was ten times stronger than her.

"My name is Yui," the stranger answered. "Much as I would love you to tell you more about myself and about how we were connected, I can't. Time is of the essence here, and it's not on our side. So, I'll get right to the point." She put a hand on Himeko's shoulder. It was gentle. It was very warm. Suddenly, her suspicions and her fear vanished like water vapors into the air. She did not understand how she knew... but she was absolutely certain that Yui would never hurt her. Her body began to relax. "I'm here to lend you a hand, my child," the older woman continued, her beautiful golden eyes flickering toward the Shinken Swords before they came back to Himeko's face.

"You... want to help me summon the Eye of Heaven?" she asked quietly while hope welled in her soul.

"Yes." Yui's smile grew much fonder. "It's not that you can't do it by yourself, I know. You simply don't have enough time. It might have taken you hours, maybe even days, to overcome the power of the Shinken Swords." Himeko nodded, knowing that it was the truth. "There is a simpler way to do it, little one," the older woman continued as her hand moved to Himeko's head and patted it gently. She reminded her of the kind mother she had before a plague took both of her parents away.

"Then tell me, please!" she laid her hands on Yui's arms and pleaded. "I beg of you, Yui-san."

"You don't have to." She chuckled. "What you do need to do, however, is answer some questions for me. Is that okay with you, child?"

"I'll answer them no matter how many you have," Himeko said with determination.

"Very good." The older woman nodded in approval. Suddenly, the smile that had been gracing her lips since the very beginning faded away. "Well then. Tell me, who are you fighting for?"

"Himemiya Chikane, the only person I ever love," she answered without hesitation.

"Not for the world?" Yui shot her a sharp look. "Not for the people around you?"

"No." She shook her head. She was aware that the selfish reply that she just gave would anger the people who had been hoping that she would succeed in drawing the Eye of Heaven and deliver them out of the hands of Yamata no Orochi. She knew that the High Priest would scream at her should he know that she had never tried to fight for the purpose he _thought_ she did. She understood that Yui asked her questions to test her, and that if she gave the wrong answer, she might not get the help she was promised. Still, she did not wish to lie. Chikane-chan was her whole world. Himeko was determined to save the blue-haired girl even if she had to sacrifice everyone else in the process. Not that she _wanted_ it to happen... but if worse came to worse...

To her surprise, all tension went from the older woman's face as she let out a gust of laughter filled with satisfaction and happiness. At the same time, an incredibly warm sensation suffused Himeko's body and made her feel as though she was standing under the open sky and bathing in the light of the summer sun. A second later, she realized where it came from. It was the little finger on her right hand, which was glowing like heated metal even in the light coming from the golden sphere in the middle of the eternal ice pillar. It was open wonder how her hand had not been reduced to dust.

"Kurusugawa Himeko, what is it that you desire?" Yui asked in a quiet voice. Her eyes, like her mouth, were smiling.

"I want to grant Chikane-chan's wish," she answered honestly and gasped aloud at the end of the sentence when a thin, red ribbon emerged from her little finger and filled most of the Enshrinement Chamber with its impossible length. "What... is this...?" she asked in amazement.

"It's called Enishi, the Red Thread of Fate," said the woman in the snowy hagoromo. "It's a weapon you have carried within your soul during the last three thousand years. It was the gift I had given you before you went to sleep in the Kannazuki Tower."

Himeko's eyes widened. "You gave it to me?" she repeated in shock. "But you said I had kept it for three thousand years! Who are you?!"

"In time, you'll know." Yui pulled Himeko into her arms and hugged her tightly. "In time, you'll remember everything that had come to pass." The golden-haired woman gave her a soft kiss on her forehead before she pulled away. "Now that Enishi is in your hand, you may command it to do whatever you wish. Use the Thread wisely, my beloved child." The instant the final word left her mouth was also the one in which she shattered into a shower of golden sparks and vanished. _"Until we meet again,"_ her voice lingered in Himeko's head.

Time continued to pass with her standing in a daze and looking at the serpentine thread slithering soundlessly in the confined space of the Chamber until several minutes later when she snapped back to reality. Her resolve firmed.

_"Enishi!"_ she raised her voice and spoke. Strength surged along the Red Thread of Fate._ "Destroy the Shinken Seals!"_

At her command, the thin, silky ribbon streaked at the five columns of light surrounding the Eye of Heaven in a crimson blur. When it touched them, it neither bounced away nor became burned by the sacred lightning that sprang from the Swords. It cut through them like knife through butter. Shock seized Himeko while she watched the Shinken break and the eternal ice pillar shatter into a rainstorm of fragments the tiny surfaces of which reflected the golden light that came from the now freed Eye of Heaven. As the Red Thread of Fate melted into the air, the legendary Gods-forged weapon floated toward her and stopped a few inches in front of her body. Its scabbard was red and engraved with the Sun Crest near the hand guard.

Heart racing fast enough to beat a horse, she wrapped her hand around the hilt of the Key of the Sacred Light. Celestial power roared and rose in her like the tsunami waves at the contact.

_"I release you, Eye of Heaven,"_ she said, her voice booming like thunder in the Enshrinement Chamber of Shingetsu. The Sun Crest began to turn, the blade unsheathe. _"Wake up, Akatsuya!" _Golden aura distorted everything in sight.

* * *

Saotome Makoto was taking her time feigning the attack on the barrier protecting Shingetsu Grand Shrine when the smell of fresh blood invaded her Orochi-enhanced nose and made her turn her head to look. In spite of her self, she could only stare in shock and horror. Down on the ground Oogami Souma stood, his hands holding Hokuto and Raien, his face colder than a block of ice. From the blades of the Two Swords blood were dripping. Next to the boy's feet lay the limp body of the woman who was the Orochi Second Head. On her chest there were two wounds, from which blood were gushing out in nozzles. In her hands were Rekkyou and Suikyou, yet they could no longer be wielded by their master. All vital signs had ceased in Girochi Miyako's body. The woman was dead. 

Makoto's hand clenched around the hilt of Tasogare. It was not from anger, for it mattered not who had ended the life of the elder Girochi. It was from surprise. Before, the Seventh Head was but a boy whose ego was as large as the Grand Shrine and a measly Follower whose strength paled when compared to hers, and a traitor she could destroy anytime she wished. He was no longer so. Now, with the Lightning and Star Blades in his possession, Oogami Souma was as powerful as she was, if not more.

No longer did the boy look the way he used to. His appearance did not change. His attitude did. The arrogance with which he carried was long gone. In its place were now impeccable dignity and an air of icy ruthlessness. He could have been an entirely different boy. Were the fan girls he had in Ototachibana Academy to lay eyes on him this very moment, they would scream in fright and run off. Makoto, however, only tightened her mouth. She was willing to wager the Sword in her hand that someone had decided to take over Oogami Souma's body.

"Get out of my way, Sixth Head, Eighth Head," said Oogami Souma, whose voice slipped easily into Makoto's ears despite the great distance separating them. In his hands, Raien and Hokuto were blazing like the midday sun. Realizing what he was about to do, she immediately put as much distance as possible between her and the barrier of Shingetsu Grand Shrine. Although the cat-fanatic Nekoko did not seem to understand anything the way her face was painted with confusion, she, too, rushed away from the protective dome of light.

The Seventh Head, or whoever possessed him, threw up his hands and sent the Star and Lightning Blades soaring into the dark heavens. What came down an instant later were not Swords but a pair of humongous dragons whose wings and serpentine bodies were made from solid purple and white light. Each had four limbs, each tipped with claws large enough to wrap around a thick tree. Either had a pair of jaws arms with teeth that reminded Makoto of the dinosaurs she had seen in the museums. Both had a mane and a pair of leathery wings that spanned at least twenty roofs when unfolded.

Growling, they slithered in the airspace above Shingetsu, their fierce eyes locked on the last stronghold of humanity, their massive bodies casting a great shadow across the land. The air trembled at every movement they made. The earth shook under their enormous powers. Makoto's lips thinned into a straight line. She was well aware of how strong these two Elemental Dragons were. She knew what the boy meant to accomplish by summoning them into this world.

_"Come forth, Lord of the Thunder Sky, Lord of the Hallow Stars!"_ Oogami Souma called, his voice crisp and loud as any gunshot. The Swords' true forms opened their toothy mouths wide and roared a roar so loud Makoto had to use her hand to cover her ears. Had she not, they would have bled.

The Lightning Dragon flapped its leathery wings and sent a rain formed entirely out of lightning bolts crashing upon the barrier. Meanwhile, seven glowing spheres appeared in front of the Star Dragons and aligned themselves into the shape of the Hokuto Shichisei. A heartbeat later, they became seven pillars of white light that slammed at the great layer of energy. The dragons' power output was so large that the resulting shockwaves, which were formed at the moment of collision, destroyed the Nekoko the Sixth Head's balance and hurled her off her feet. As a result, the woman fell upon the ground and was knocked unconscious. Makoto grimaced. Had she not braced herself, she would have suffered from the same fate.

_"No!"_ the High Priest's voice screamed in the background just as the great barrier shrank smaller and smaller under the heavy assaults of the Elemental Dragons. Finally, when it could shrink no more, it shattered in the dying cries of three hundred fifty people who had risked their lives to sustain it. Shuddering, Makoto thought of what Oogami Souma would command the dragons to do next. Although she was determined to protect Himeko, she was not entirely sure she could stand up against Hokuto no Ryuu and Raien no Ryuu at the same time. Powerful as Tasogare might be, its true form still wouldn't be able to defeat two of its brethren. Should she try, all she was going to gain would be instant defeat.

_"What have you done, Souma?!"_ shouted Oogami Kazuki, who planted himself furiously in front of his adopted brother and attempted to give the latter a full-arm slap. The Seventh Head caught the older man by the wrist before he could hit him. From the way the High Priest's face was contorted by pain at the contact, Makoto believed that the boy had never intended to go easy on his brother.

"I killed three hundred and fifty fools," he answered. "Soon to be three hundred and fifty-three." His dark eyes regarded the other man, whose appearance had been aged at least a dozen years by his using Life force combustion, and the two Orochi Heads who stood nearby coldly. Oota Reiko, behind whose back Korona was trembling in fear, stared back challengingly even though her powers were already lost. He raised his hand. Up in the sky, the dragons let out another thunderous roar.

Three men, each seeming old enough to be a grandfather, appeared out of thin air and caught Oogami Souma in their grip. It was the same technique they had used against the pop idol to force the mangaka to drop her Sealed Sword.

_"No!"_ Oogami Kazuki shouted, his voice racked with horror. _"Run!" _He was too late. A dark aura had already swept out from his brother's body and blasted the old men away even before he could start on his second word. On the ground the fools lay, their breathing weakening as they neared death.

"Your turn, High Priest," murmured the Seventh Head, whose vacant hand held high. The same dark aura then spilled out from his palm and solidified into a large blade. "Goodbye." The older man could only stare as the blade ran through his chest. He fell down onto the ground and lay there limply, unable to stop his little brother from raising his hand a second time to deliver the finishing stroke.

A wave of golden light suddenly emerged from nowhere and erased the world.

Up in the heavens, Raien and Hokuto began to roar in pain and sounded as though something was burning them inside out. _I guess they like the holy light as much as a normal Orochi does,_ she thought. Chuckling, she pulled down the deep hood of her cape to shield her eyes from the blinding light. The chuckle grew louder as she noticed an alien presence invading her Sealed Sword. Unlike in the battle with Kannazuki Aoi a day before, she loosened all her defense and welcomed the invading force. After all, she knew what it was as well as who had created it. After all, she knew what it meant to accomplish.

When the light disappeared as quickly as it had arrived, the Dark Sun and the silver moon were no longer all that ruled in the vast heavens. Now, the golden sun stood next to them as it bestowed its brilliance upon the earth. Down on the ground, Oogami Souma was standing alone, his eyes widened by surprise. All the people he had hurt and nearly killed were no longer around him. They were now lying a hundred feet away, their dying bodies towered over by a girl whose golden hair fall to her waist in a glorious stream, whose slender figure was graced by a white chihaya and a blue hibakama of the Moon Priestess, whose hand was holding an Eye of Heaven, and whose face was painted with anger as well as concern.

That girl was Kurusugawa Himeko, the Priestess of the Sun.

"Please hang in there, sensei," Makoto's one and only love said as she raised her one-bladed sword overhead. Akatsuya, the counterpart of Kagetsuki, then glowed brilliantly in her hand before it disintegrated into a thousand sparks of golden light. Those, however, gathered as soon as they broke apart. What they formed afterward was no longer the Eye of Aurora, but a sword the paper-thin blade of which seemed to be made entirely from fog and winds. It was Arashigumo, the Sealed Sword in the possession of Nekoko the Sixth Head.

Makoto smiled. She had guessed correctly the power of the Eyes of Heaven, it turned out. Kagetsuki and Akatsuya both were gifted with the ability to shapeshift into any weapon that they had analyzed beforehand. That had been how Kannazuki Aoi managed to wield the dimensional power only Tasogare had to ward off the attacks thrown at her by the Second and the Sixth Head. That had also been how she morphed her sword into Suikyou the Water Blade to monitor the now deceased Girochi Tokiya, killed him with Raien, and then placed all the blame on the innocent Seventh Head.

Down on the ground, the Priestess of the Sun drew Arashigumo in a wide arc around her body, which in turn released a wave of emerald light upon Oogami Kazuki and his subordinates. Almost instantly, the wound on the High Priest's body closed, his bloodless face regained its color, and his heart beat strongly once more. The other three men, whose name Makoto didn't know, had the agonizing expression on their own faces replaced by that of a person soundly asleep. It was as though none of them had been hurt. Even Makoto was surprised. Although she knew that Nekoko was capable of reviving men on the verge of death, she doubted the cat-fanatic could have pulled off such an impossibly quick recovery.

"You will leave him alone now," the golden-haired girl told Oogami Souma flatly. For the first time since Makoto got to know her, Himeko was seriously angry.

"Try and make me, Priestess," replied the Seventh Head in a calm and collected voice. He raised his hands again, obviously trying to signal his dragons to attack. Faster than the eye could see, the Wind Blade in Himeko's hand changed into Asayuki the Ice Blade, which then proceeded to unleash a wave of mist upon Oogami Souma. As a result, the part of his body from his chest down, including his forearms, were trapped in solid ice. His face hardened.

"This... cannot be!" exclaimed Oota Reiko. Behind her was Korona, whose eyes were large as teacups on her bloodless face. "Even I..." The mangaka's voice faltered in shock. _Cannot release Asayuki's powers so fast,_ Makoto finished mentally for her.

_"Waker of the world,"_ intoned the golden-haired girl, who held Asayuki vertically in front of her chest with both hands. There, the Ice Blade shattered and quickly reconstructed into its original form, the Eye of Aurora. There, Akatsuya began to shine with all the glory of the midsummer sun.

At first, only one large spinning Sun Crest appeared in the heavens. A fraction of a second later, there were two. In the next, there were four. In less than a minute, they had multiplied so quickly that they now formed a vast horizontal plane that blanketed the skies. From each of the spinning symbols light began to drip. Together, they wove the heaviest rain Makoto had ever seen. Only that in this rain, the drops did not fall in a straight line. Instead, they followed such a curved path that all they were hitting were the Elemental Dragons.

Having no where to hide, the true forms of Hokuto and Raien could only roar and writhe in agony as their ethereal bodies were punctured by the sparkling raindrops. Their leathery wings became tattered pieces of cloth. Their serpentine lengths, thrashing in the air and caused powerful winds that could not ward off the raindrops, became humongous beehives. In no time at all, they drew their last breath. Their wings flapped one last time and their mouths let out one last roar before they exploded and were reverted into the Sealed Swords, which fell from the sky and plunged their blades halfway into the soft ground.

Oogami Souma wasn't faring any better than the creatures he had summoned. Although the ice that had enveloped his lower body was gone, the boy was being subjected a treatment that was much more uncomfortable. Beneath his feet was another spinning Sun Crest, from which a pillar of light had sprung up and engulfed him. In it, he was bellowing in great anger and pain, his hands were clawing at the inner wall of the pillar in a futile attempt to tear it up, and the dark presence within him was slowly being expelled. The exorcism continued for another minute before Himeko lowered her sword and undid her spell. The Sun Crest disappeared, the light dissipated, and the Seventh Head fell onto his front on the ground, where he was knocked unconscious. Whoever had possessed him was now gone.

The battle is far from over despite the fact that all other Followers had been captured, Makoto knew. There was still someone out there, waiting to wreak havoc upon the world.

Her train of thought was interrupted when she noticed that the Priestess of the Sun was waving at her from the ground. Smiling, the girl said, "Mako-chan, would you come down here for a bit?"

Panic seized her.

* * *

Standing in the Audience Chamber of the Orochi lair, Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne stared at her right hand, around which smoke was billowing. The connection she had bridged into the traitorous Seventh Head's soul had been destroyed. Although her goal to smoke the Priestess out had been achieved, she never expected that the girl could chase her out that easily. _Not that it matters much,_ she thought. The healing process had just concluded. There was no longer any need for a puppet. 

"Rise, Yamata no Orochi," she spoke softly to the ever glowing Crystal Orb. "It is time for us to pull down the curtain. Awaken. Our death awaits."

The Crystal Orb cracked, a large shadow reached out, and the Temple of the Dragons fell to pieces.

* * *

Sitting on one of the stone steps next to the girl she loved, Saotome Makoto was feeling very unsettled at the moment. With her hood down and the shadow once obscuring her face now dispelled, she had nowhere to hide. She did not expect that her identity would be exposed so soon. Neither did she have any answer ready for the questions she feared that Himeko would ask. 

Only that the golden-haired, who had been silent ever since they sat down next to each other, did not seem to want to say anything anytime soon. She simply gazed ahead at the devastated ground that was the result of the battle against the Followers, seemingly deep in thoughts. Her right hand was wrapped around the Eye of Aurora, now sheathed, while her left one stroked its hilt almost absently. The silence hanging between them was so uncomfortable and unnerving that Makoto caught herself wishing fervently that the girl would just shout at her and get it over with.

Nearby, a few steps above them, sat the Fourth and the Fifth Head, the former half lying and resting her head on the lap of the latter, eyes closed, her entire body relaxed. Oota Reiko, whose hand was gently combing through her lover's hair, looked just as peaceful. Neither appeared to mind the fact that they both had their powers sealed and were now held prisoners in their enemies' hands.

The cat-fanatic Nekoko, who sat in a slump at the top of the stone flight of stairs, certainly minded. When the woman woke up, she had found herself in the same condition as her surviving comrades. She had looked as though she had lost everything ever since. Not that Makoto believed that the Sixth Head had given up, though. She suspected that the self-styled doctor was still scheming in that head of hers and trying to devise a way to get herself out of the mess. It was in her blood. It was inevitable.

"When... did you know, Himeko?" Makoto sighed and decided to speak up. She had to repeat her question before her former roommate realized she was speaking to her.

"When I analyzed your Sword," the golden-haired girl replied, smiling.

"Aren't you mad at me for deceiving you?" Makoto mumbled.

"Yes. About this much, I think." Himeko held up a hand and put her thumb and her forefinger an inch apart to show how much. Her smile grew broader. "No, seriously, I'm not angry at all. I know that you never wanted to hurt me. I would have been dead long since."

Silence returned then, with each of them chasing their own thoughts.

"You're not going to ask me anything?" Makoto asked again after a while. "Like... why I joined the Orochi, for instant."

"Maybe later," answered the Priestess of the Sun, whose gaze was lowered to the ground and whose voice suddenly fell quiet. "Once everything's over, I hope." She rose to her feet and climbed down the stairs with her sword in hand.

_"Yes, everything is going to be over, but not in the way you think, Priestess,"_ the voice of the Dark God resounded in the air thunderously and startled everybody except Himeko, who was standing quietly the bottom of the stair and gazing upward at the heavens dominated by the silver moon, the golden sun, and the Dark Sun, from which shadow was spilling out like water from an open tap. Not even a full minute had passed before the shadow swallowed up the Dark Sun and solidified into a monstrosity the size of which dwarfed that of both the Lightning and Star Dragons combined. It was also a dragon with massive serpentine body, a mane, a pair of gigantic wings, and two sets of limbs. Yet, instead of solid light, this creature was made of flesh. Instead of having only one head the way the other Elemental Dragons did, this one had eight. Makoto could see the light go dim at Yamata no Orochi's appearance. She could feel the wind quiet down and the air grew heavy under the endless waves of power radiating from the Dark God's legendary form. She could hear the rumbling growls coming out of the toothy mouths of the Lord of all Followers. She could sense fear tearing herself apart. Susanou no Mikoto was the strongest Immortal she had ever known... yet it was clear that the man's strength was one step below that of the Dark God's. The knowledge frightened her even more.

"Everybody, leave this place at once," the golden-haired girl said while unsheathing her sword.

_"You seem to be certain that you can defeat me,"_ said one of the dragon's eight heads in his booming voice. _"I shall see where your confidence comes from."_ He opened all of his mouths at once and revealed within each of his jaw a blazing sphere of light. Winds howled, the ground shook, and space trembled under the force that the Dark God was about to unleash. Yet, even when she was facing a seemingly omnipotent God, the Priestess of the Sun was unfazed. She simply held her ground and held her sword upright, her face a mask of determination.

_He's wrong,_ Makoto thought. _The girl doesn't think that. She's just doing what she can. _Silently, she leapt down the last few stone steps and planted herself firmly next to her former roommate. To her surprise, Oogami Souma, who had regained consciousness a while ago, followed suit. Himeko only gave each of them an exasperated look before she focused her attention on Yamata no Orochi. She knew that no word she said could convince them to leave, it would seem.

"You will not harm her, Orochi Lord," Kannazuki Aoi's cold voice spoke suddenly from nowhere. In a flash of silver light, she appeared atop a revolving Moon Crest near the massive creature. "She is mine." Sapphire eyes gazed at the Kurusugawa Himeko and her alone. To the renegade Priestess of the Moon, everyone else might as well never exist.

"Very well," said the Dark God. The eight energy spheres in his mouths winked out of existence. Makoto blinked in shock. Unless she had misunderstood completely, Yamata no Orochi just acceded to Kannazuki Aoi's command without a word of protest. Looking at them, anyone would have thought that the blue-haired girl was the master, and the eight-headed dragon her pet.

"You know where to find me, Akari," the Priestess of the Moon declared softly before she turned sideways and vanished.

"Go, Himeko," urged Oogami Souma, whose hands were holding Hokuto and Raien. "We," he paused and shot Makoto a suspicious look, "will try to buy you some time."

"You should hurry," Makoto said, pretending that the Seventh Head wasn't there. "I don't know how long I can keep him occupied. The world is in your hand," she added as though an afterthought.

The Priestess of the Sun stared at them unblinkingly for a few seconds before she nodded and gave each of them a hug. "Farewell, Mako-chan, Sou-chan," she whispered as a golden glow emanating from the Eye of Aurora enveloped her slender body, "I'm sorry." The girl vanished in a flash of light.

A chill ran across Makoto's body. She shivered and thought, _Why did she say that?_

_"Traitorous children, do you still wish to stand in my way?"_ Yamata no Orochi asked. _"Should you come back to me now, I shall forget and forgive. Immortality can still be yours."_

"In your dreams," Oogami Souma replied coldly.

"Himeko's gone, Orochi Lord," Makoto smirked at the eight-headed dragon, "so why don't you drop your pretense and tell us the truth?" The Seventh Head widened his eyes at her in surprise. They went wider, still, when he looked up and found the Dark God watching her in silence.

_"So you found out,"_ observed one of the dragon's head. _"When did you start suspecting me?" _

"During my second trip to the Memories Hall," she answered, smiling. Next to her, the younger Oogami was alternating his gaze between her and the Dragon God, eyes shining with unasked questions. She ignored him. "When I found out that you had conveniently left out some _details_ when you sent me there on my first trip."

_"I told you all you _need_ to know to do my biddings, and no more,"_ declared a different Yamata no Orochi's head. The other ones spanned out so that they watched Makoto from all sides.

"Susanou no Mikoto thought otherwise," she pointed out. "The man felt that I was entitled to the knowledge that there were certain restrictions on the entries of the Memories Sea. Thanks to him, I learned that it was impossible for me to view memories belonging to other people." She narrowed her eyes at each of the monstrous heads. They seemed to be smiling. "The only group that _can_ is the Celestial Assembly, who is free to view any mortal's life record as they wish. However, should they wish to examine the memories of an Immortal, they would need permission from the Lord of Izumo himself."

_"So?"_ yet another head asked in the same amused voice. _"I am not sure I understand what you are implying."_ Oogami Souma appeared to have wanted to ask the same question. She could see that the boy was very confused right now.

"So I couldn't help but suspect that something was amiss when you ordered me to retrieve a memories sphere which _wasn't_ yours," she answered in an accusing tone. "You should have found it useless unless you were a member of the Assembly, which Susanou later confirmed that you were not."

_"I could have wanted it to give to someone else,"_ the Dark God pointed out.

"That theory did cross my mind," Makoto said dryly, "but I immediately thought that it was unlikely. If there was another Immortal who had allied with you, the legend and numerous ancient texts would mention it." Her voice firmed. "That was why I made a search in the One Terminal... for your name. How shocked I was when nothing came up." Oogami Souma drew a sharp breath. He seemed to have caught on something. "You don't exist in the records of the Memories Hall, Yamata no Orochi, so it was only logical to conclude that they filed you under a different name." She raised her voice and demanded, _"Am I not right, Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne? Answer me, you whom Susanou no Mikoto named the Seraphim Blade!" _

"You are indeed correct," answered a woman's voice from all of the dragon's heads.

Taken aback, Makoto stood stiffly like a lamp post and watched as the Immortal who termed himself the Dark God of Blood and Destruction began to change. The size of the eight-headed dragon's body was reduced so greatly in such a short amount of time that when Makoto's eyelids closed down and opened up again, Yamata no Orochi was no longer there. The person who was now standing airborne was a young woman in her mid-twenties, whose slender frame was graced by a white cape with long and wide sleeves, whose platinum hair parted into behind her body and wreathed around it like two living streams of water, and whose face was so beautiful no man could have resisted it. Attached to her back were four pairs of angelic wings, each bearing a different color. The shadow's black, the water's transparency, the ice's blue, the fire's crimson, the lightning's purple, the earth's brown, the wind's fogginess, and the star's white.

_Now this is interesting,_ Makoto thought. _I didn't expect Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne to be a woman._

"It's her!" Oogami Souma exclaimed.

"You know her." She gave the boy a quizzical look.

His mouth tightened in anger. "She almost killed me once. And just before, she took over my body to force me to attack." Suddenly, his eyebrows furrowed together in realization. "But she used to look a few years younger, though."

She turned her attention back to the Seraphim Blade, who was studying her with open interest.

"You are a very smart girl, Saotome Makoto," the mysterious woman said. "You figured out my identity, something I did not expect."

"Who are you, really?" she demanded.

"I am Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne, the Seraphim Blade," the winged woman declared proudly. "I am the living weapon whom Izanagi the Lord of Izumo named the Sinner. I am the person who was exiled from Heaven just because I fell in love."

"Fell in love?" Makoto blinked. "With whom?"

"A man named Akira," Rinne's lips curved upward in a twisted smile, "known to you as Ame no Murakumo, the Sword God." The name was invested with so much genuine affection that Makoto could not help but believe the older woman's claim. She couldn't stop her mouth from hanging open in shock, though. She never imagined that Yamata no Orochi was actually the lover of the Immortal who was supposed to destroy her.

"Izanagi could not come to terms with the fact that his son was in love with a mere weapon," the Seraphim Blade continued, her voice taut with contempt, "so he did whatever he could to separate us. Unwilling to forsake our feelings, we fought back. A fierce battle broke out between us and the Lord of Izumo then, which laid waste to a large part of the Holy City. To our astonishment, the more we pressed on, the more Izanagi fell back. We had thought then that we could win." A dark shadow stole across her pretty face. "We were wrong."

"How did Izanagi defeat you?" Makoto demanded, puzzled.

"By summoning the most powerful magical entity in the Three Worlds," Rinne answered, "the Mirror of Life." Makoto gasped. It was what she had seen inside the Tower of Kannazuki. "Thanks to that despicable object, the bastard succeeded in sealing Akira beneath the surface of the moon. With the Sword God out of the way, he then proceeded to attack me. Thankfully, I managed to escape to the Human World."

_So during all this time, when we thought that she was scheming to rule the world,_ Makoto thought indignantly, _she was in fact trying to rescue her lover! She's been manipulating us all along!_

"In Onogoro, I worked hard to find a way to free Akira. For that purpose, I knew I needed more strength so that I could defeat Izanagi," Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne continued. "Fortunately for me, I discovered that the humans possessed a fearsome source of power that none had taken advantage of. I realized that if I could tap into the darkness of their hearts, I could make my wish come true." Her gray eyes glittered in triumph. "I started to corrupt them, bend them to my will, and feed on their darkness. As I grew stronger, my appearance began to change. In time, the eight-winged Seraphim Blade became a hideous eight-headed dragon named Yamata no Orochi, what they called the Dark God.

"Yet, I made one mistake. I was too immersed in my affair that I never noticed that Heaven had launched an operation against me. Unwilling to let me do whatever I wanted with the Human World, the Immortals created Project Kannazuki. Before I could grow to my full strength, the Priestesses of the Sun and Moon summoned Akira and commanded him to attack me."

"He... never recognized you?" Makoto asked.

"No." The Seraphim Blade shook her head. "His mind had fallen under the control of the Eyes of Heaven. Hurting me was his only wish. Unable to force myself to fight him, I was defeated."

"How did you survive afterwards? I thought the Immortals meant him to kill you."

"That is incorrect. The true goals of Project Kannazuki have _never_ included destroying me," the platinum-haired Immortal explained with a face darkened with fury. "Izanagi would never grant me the pleasure of death when he knew that he could torture me for all eternity. Do you know, Saotome Makoto, that the steel of the Eyes of Heaven would destroy your memories if it did not kill you?"

"What do you mean?" Makoto demanded, shocked.

"After Akira left his prison three thousand years ago, he picked up the Eye belonging to the sacrificed Priestess and used it to pierce my flesh. As ordered by the Lord of Izumo, the surviving Priestess then went on to seal my physical self inside a Crystal Orb in the Temple of the Dragon. My soul, separated from my body, began to wander the world as a result. To my horror, I realized after a while that my memories were slowly deteriorating. I finally understood what Izanagi meant to accomplish, then." Power surged in her as her complexion grew even darker, if it was possible. "The bastard was trying to torture me by destroying the memories I shared with the man I loved." Her face suddenly grew mournful. "I have spent the last three thousand years crying in the Temple of the Dragons and trying to cling to the memories I had left. Sometimes my condition became so bad that I could not even remember how he looked like. Have you any idea how tormented I was?"

Makoto felt her whole body tremble with anger. Although she did not like Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne, she couldn't help but be enraged by the actions of the people who called themselves Gods. Once she had managed to suppress her emotion, she asked, "And that's why you commanded me to go to the Memories Hall and take your memories back?"

"Indeed." The other woman nodded.

"Also, you forbid the Followers from harming the Priestesses because you wanted them to summon the Sword God for you," Makoto continued.

"You are indeed very smart." The Seraphim Blade chuckled softly.

"What are you going to do once they have?"

The platinum-haired woman gave her a dark smile and vanished.

* * *

Materializing out of thin air, Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne found herself standing right in front of Oogami Souma, the traitorous Seventh Head. The boy never had even a chance to cry out or swing his Sword at her before a blade made of light extending from her right hand ran through his heart. With his flame of life immediately snuffed out, he fell on his back upon the ground and continued to lie there while blood spurted out in nozzles from the hole in his chest. 

She laughed.

_"How dare you!"_ shouted Saotome Makoto, who swung Tasogare the Twilight Blade at her from behind.

A flap of her eight wings lifted her off the ground and helped her evade the deadly slash.

_"No!"_ cried Oogami Kazuki, who had been listening to the conversation from the top of the stairs with Oota Reiko and Korona, as he ran to his brother's side. There, he fell onto his knees and began to weep over Oogami Souma's corpse._ "Souma! No!"_

Furious, the Eighth Head lunged toward Rinne, the girl's Sealed Sword aiming straight for her throat. Not bother to deal with the former track-and-field athlete, Rinne invoked her dimensional power, wrapped herself in the fabric of space, and reappeared behind the Fourth and the Fifth Heads. Both of her hands rose this time, the light around each formed a long and slightly curved blade. Having her inhuman senses intact, Oota Reiko, face painted with horror, spun on her heel and pushed Korona out of the way. Thanks to that, the pop idol escaped her demise by a hair's breadth while the mangaka suffered the same fate as Oogami Souma. As Rinne retracted the blade of light, the Fifth Head sank onto her knees on the ground, her hand clutching at the bleeding wound on her chest.

"Run... Korona... Run!" she managed to speak quietly before she fell backward and drew her last breath.

_"Leave them alone!"_ snarled Saotome Makoto as she brought down Tasogare on Rinne's head.

Smiling, she raised her right hand and caught the Twilight Blade between her fore and middle fingers. The brown-haired girl's eyes grew large as any teacup when she discovered that she could neither press her Sword down nor pull it back up.

Refusing to do what the mangaka had told her to before she died, the pop idol knelt down by the now lifeless body of her beloved, took it into her arms, and let out a full-throated wail full of grief. It only took Rinne another second to run the light blade on her left hand through the pop idol's heart. The girl only let out a painful gasp before she died.

Having witnessed what had happened to her brethren, Nekoko the Orochi Sixth Head, who had been playing on both sides of the field from the very beginning, ran away while screaming at the top of her lungs. Smirking, Rinne hurled Saotome Makoto as well as her Sealed Sword away before she swung her left hand at the retreating figure of the cat-fanatic. A shaft of solid fire skewered Izanagi's agent from behind, knocked her down, and killed her immediately.

"Your turn, Eighth Head," she told the former track-and-field athlete, her lips curving upward in a satisfied smile.

_"What in goodness's name are you doing?!"_ the girl shouted. Her eyes were fixed on Rinne, her legs assuming a defensive stance, her hands holding Tasogare in such a way that its blade shielded her heart.

"Collecting what is rightfully mine," Rinne answered, chuckling.

When the fool Priests discovered the strange metal pieces into which they forged the Sealed Swords, they had had no idea that those were Rinne's fragments, broken off in the fight with Akira, the man she loved. Neither did they know that Raien and Hokuto happened to be made from pieces of her own heart, which was full of sorrow and darkness ever since the Sword God was sealed. That had been why the two Blades were capable of releasing the Voice of Sorrow and suppress the magical powers or humans and weapons alike.

When Rinne found out what the Priests had done, she had come up with an ingenious idea._ If the bastards of Heaven can use sacrifices, why can't I? _she had thought. Human souls, filled with anger, lust, envy, and a hundred other dark emotions, would give her the power necessary to free the Sword God and destroy the mind-controlling spell Izanagi had placed on Akira and reduced him to a breathing corpse.

Through the Elemental Blades, she reached into the Cycle of Death and Rebirth and looked for suitable souls. After a process that lasted almost three thousand years, she reeled out the Followers, whose souls she marked as hers. When those Orochi Heads came into contact with the Swords, the latter would immediately forge a Soul Contract with the former, thus forming a bond that could only be broken when the former was dead. And when that happened, the Follower's souls would follow the bonds and come to Rinne instead of returning to the Cycle of Death and Rebirth.

"If you would just put down your weapon, Makoto, I promise that I will grant you a quick and painless death," she told the brown-haired girl. "If you continue t resist me..." She let the unvoiced threat hang in the air.

"If you want my life, come and get it!" the Eighth Head answered coldly before she sent the Elemental Blade soaring into the heavens and summoned the Twilight Dragon, Tasogare no Ryuu.

Laughing softly to herself, Rinne decided that it was actually a good thing that Saotome Makoto refused her offer. This way, she could toy with the girl for a little more. This way, she would have something to kill time with while waiting for the Priestess of the Sun to deliver Akira out of his prison.

* * *

Standing on the rough and rocky surface of the moon, Kannazuki Aoi gazed at what remained of the Lunar Shrine, where she and her childhood friend had spent seventeen years in happiness three millennia in the shadow of the past. Looking at it now gave her a strange sense of regret, agony, anger, and nostalgia. How she had wished that right now, she was just dreaming and that when she woke up, she would find the gentle face of Kannazuki Akari, the girl she loved, who would tell her that it was just a nightmare she was having. How she was infuriated every time she closed her eyes and opened her opened them again just to realize that it was not. 

A flash of golden light on her right-hand-side pulled her back to reality and announced the arrival of the Sun Priestess. Slowly, Aoi turned around and faced the person who had betrayed her three thousand years ago. Kannazuki Akari, in a white chihaya and a blue hibakama, was holding an Eye of Heaven in her hand and looking at Aoi with a pair of amethyst eyes filled with longing and sadness. As far as Aoi was concerned, the golden-haired girl did not seem someone who had come here to kill her and complete the summoning ritual. The knowledge narrowed her eyes, hardened her face, and soured her stomach. Right now, the Priestess of the Sun looked almost the same as she did in the past before she single-handedly shattered Aoi's hopes and dreams.

_"We have come to say farewell, Tsukiyomi-sama," said Kannazuki Aoi, who was on her knees outside the Goddess of the Moon's private chamber with her forehead touching the wooden floor, between her hands. Next to her was her childhood friend and sweetheart, Kannazuki Akari, who was in the same posture. "Words cannot describe our gratitude to you, who has been taking care of us since the moment we were born. There is nothing we desire more than to stay by your side and repay the love you have given us..." she could hear her voice tremble. She could sense her heart ache, "but we are sorry. Please forgive us, Mother." It was the first time that she had addressed her mentor in such a way. _

_The only thing that answered her was sobbing sounds coming from within the chamber. Aoi had had to use all her strength to swallow a whimper that was crawling up her throat. Next to her, the young Priestess of the Sun was shaking as though she, too, was trying to hold back her tears. Aoi knew that if they remained here any longer, they would cry and end up hurting their beloved mother even more. _

_"Let us go, Akari," she told her sweetheart in an uneven voice. "Time is growing short." _

_They rose to their feet, offered the door to the chamber of the Goddess of the Moon a deep bow from each, and walked away. Hand in hand, side by side, they treaded along the empty hallways leading toward the entrance of the Shrine. _Just a little more,_ Aoi thought. Project Kannazuki stated clearly that they were to perform the ritual to free Ame no Murakumo the Sword God under the Torii Archway outside. They actually were not. What they would do was open a Dimensional Portal to some uninhabited place in the Onogoro, where they were going to spend the rest of their natural lives without caring what the Dark God was going to do with the world. _

_"Ao-chan," her lover called before she stopped. "Can we... come inside for a moment?" She gestured at the door to her left with her vacant hand. Beyond it was her room. _

_"Did you forget something?" Aoi asked. _

_"Yes." The golden-haired girl nodded. _

_"Fine, then." _

_As soon as they opened the door and stepped inside the room, the Sun Priestess wrapped her arms around Aoi's back and hugged her tightly. Quickly overcoming her surprise, she chuckled softly before she embraced her sweetheart and placed a kiss on her forehead. The beautiful girl she was holding trembled as though cold. _

_"Is this what you forgot, you needy girl?" Aoi joked as she let her hands run up and down her lover's back. Akari only burrowed deeper into the embrace and said nothing. They stayed like that for another while until Aoi kissed her sweetheart's cheek and whispered gently in her ear, "We should get going." _

_No answer came. _

_She laughed. "Come now, Akari. When we arrive at the Human World, you can cuddle me as much as you want, I promise." _

_"That... would be too late," the golden-haired girl murmured as she rose on her toes and claimed Aoi's lips. _

_The kiss was so deep and passionate that for a moment there, she felt her body melting. By the time she finally noticed that her lover's hand had been placed upon the exact spot where the Moon Crest lay on her back and that the girl's power was rapidly flowing into her, it was already too late. With her own powers sealed an instant later, her limbs lost all their strength. Had Akari not been holding her since the beginning, she would have fallen to the ground. _

_"What... are you... doing, Akari?" she said weakly. _

_"I'm sorry, Ao-chan," was her sweetheart's tearful answer. "I'm sorry." Suddenly, Aoi's body was lifted upward. When she strained her eyes and looked, she realized in horror that countless ribbons, which came out of nowhere and were seemingly made entirely from golden light, were binding her arms and legs as well as holding her airborne. _

_She knew what the Priestess of the Sun was planning to do. _

"Akari, no!"_ she gathered all the strength that she could and screamed. _"Please! You cannot do this to me!"

_The little angel, face drenched with tears, did not listen. She raised her hand and summoned the Eye of Aurora, which she moved on to unsheathe. _

"I beg of you!"_ Aoi pleaded desperately as her own tears trickled down her cheeks. _"Stop it! Stop it, please!"

_"I know this is too selfish of me," the golden-haired girl managed between her sobs, "but I don't have a choice, Ao-chan." She raised her sword. "Please forgive me." Golden light flared from Akatsuya, and Aoi started to scream. _

After giving her head a slight shake to pull herself out of the heartbreaking reverie, Kannazuki Aoi told the shorter girl in a cold and steely voice, "Prepare yourself. Your destiny awaits."

"Chikane-chan," Akari said, her amethyst eyes shining with moisture. "Chikane-chan," she called again before she dropped the Eye of Aurora onto the ground and stepped toward Aoi, her arms opening as though wanting to pull Aoi into a hug.

"How many more times must I say it to convince you that Himemiya Chikane is dead," she whispered dangerously, drew the Eye of Luna out of its scabbard, and pointed it at the Priestess of the Sun. The golden-haired girl, having Kagetsuki's prickly tip an inch from piercing her throat, stood very still on the devastated ground. Not that the sword had managed to banish the look of determination from those beautiful amethyst eyes or brought the hatred that Aoi wanted to see into them, she noticed. Her mouth tightened.

"You can't." Akari shook her head. "No matter what you said or how many times you said it, you can't convince me, Chikane-chan." The name, as ever, was invested with affections and not a single grain of hate. Aoi's hand clenched around the hilt of Kagetsuki.

"If I cannot do it with words, I certainly can with steel," she said, her voice growing colder and colder. "Pick up your sword." She raised her voice and shouted after a few seconds had passed without the Priestess of the Sun doing as commanded, _"I said pick up your sword!"_

She shook her head. "I... did not come here to fight, Chikane-chan," she declared in a soft voice in which sadness flowed like a river in floods.

_"Stop saying that name!"_ Aoi growled at the same time she lashed her sword from left to right. When Kagetsuki's tip returned to where it was afterwards, the lapels of the other girl's snowy chihaya had already been cut, revealing a part of her cleavage beneath. From the way she simply gazed into Aoi's eyes the very same way she had looked at her since the beginning, she was little fazed by Aoi's action, if at all.

"Why should I?" the little angel asked softly. "It's your name. It's the name of a girl I cherish with all my heart."

"Liar," Aoi said. "If you truly cherished me, why did you betray me three thousand years ago?"

"I don't remember what I did in my past life, Chikane-chan," the other girl replied, her voice touched with exasperation.

"That is not a very good answer." Aoi smirked. "If you think that you can ask for forgiveness with such an excuse, you are mistaken. I repeat one last time, Akari. Draw your sword or I will kill you."

"I'm not going to." The golden-haired girl sighed. "You're Himemiya Chikane. You're the person who has been protecting me since the moment we met. You're not going to kill me."

"I would not be too sure if I were you," was what Aoi whispered before she swerved Kagetsuki to the right and buried its tip in Akari's left arm. Even though pain twisted her face, the Priestess of the Sun only drew a sharp breath and bit on her underlip to prevent any cry from escaping. Blood trickled out from a corner of her mouth.

"Why there, Chikane-chan?" The other girl lifted her right hand, wrapped it around the blade of the Eye of Luna, pulled it out of her flesh, then positioned it so that it aimed at her left chest. When she withdrew her hand, it was bleeding. She paid it as much mind as the deep wound on her left arm. "If you truly hated me, you could just pierce my heart." The confidence note in her unyielding voice announced that she doubted such a thing was going to happen. Words died in Aoi's throat. She had not imagined that this was how their reunion was going to be. She had thought that after what she had done to the Priestess of the Sun, the latter would do all she could to destroy her and use her blood to summon the Sword God.

She could not have been more wrong.

"Because killing you is too much of a mercy," Aoi declared in her coldest voice. "Because that is what I would only after I have made you suffer as much as I did three thousand years ago." She lowered her sword. "You will regret not doing what I asked, Akari."

Aoi took a few steps backward. When she raised the Eye of Luna once more, its target was no longer the golden-haired girl. What she was directing it at now... was the earth riding above the horizon. Power rose in her and filled her with its sweet and overwhelming sensation. Silver light poured out of Kagetsuki so fast that in no time at all, it formed a humongous orb of light hovering at the tip of the sword. The little angel widened her eyes.

"Now I shall see if your attitude is going to change after I have destroyed Shingetsu Grand Shrine," Aoi said and tapped Kagetsuki's blade on the orb. Like an arrow loosed from a bow, it rushed toward the Earth.

"No!" shouted the Priestess of the Sun. In but a heartbeat, she summoned the Eye of Aurora into her hand, unsheathed it, and traversed the impossible distance, and appeared in the path of the spell Aoi just cast. She slammed the edge of Akatsuya at the side of the silver orb. After a deafening explosion and a storm of golden light, it changed direction, shot into the depth of space, and vanished. Afterwards, the golden-haired girl fell on her back on the ground, where she began to cough up blood. The Eye of Heaven, which had left her hand at the moment of explosion, now stood with its blade halfway into the ground a few feet away.

Aoi was stunned. She had only meant to provoke Akari by destroying the Grand Shrine. She never expected the golden-haired girl to jump into harm's way like that.

"Akatsuya..." the little angel called weakly, her bloodied hand extending toward her weapon. At her call, the Eye of Aurora lifted itself from the ground, flew toward her, and gently put its hilt into her grip. Then it shapeshift into Arashigumo the Wind Blade and spread its emerald light upon her body. Once the healing process had concluded, Akari grounded Akatsuya onto the ground again to help herself stand up. Aoi was ware that although all of the other girl's wounds had been healed, the painful sensations still lingered, and the huge amount of power she had spent deflecting the silver orb could not be replaced.

"What you have just done is useless," Aoi pointed out. Her sword rose one more time to direct the flows of her power. A second orb of silver light just as large as the first appeared. "All that it managed to accomplish was weakening you. You cannot make it this time." Her voice hardened. "Pray for all the people who are going to die for your mistake, Akari." Horror crept across the golden-haired girl's beautiful face.

_"Stop it!"_ she yelled. As soon as the last word left her mouth, red light as bright as that of noonday blazed from the little finger of her left hand and filled the world.

Shocked, Aoi hastily cover her eyes with her left sleeve and was driven backward step after step by waves of power pulsating off from where the Priestess of the Sun was standing. When the light had faded away and she had lowered her arm, she saw a thin red ribbon, within which the golden-haired girl stood, spiraling upward into the starlit night.

_What the?!_ Aoi thought. She had not been aware that the Priestess of the Sun was armed with such a weapon.

_"Enishi!"_ the little angel commanded._ "Restrain her!"_

The red ribbon uncoiled and whipped at Aoi so quickly that she never had time to defend herself. Enishi, or whatever its name was, wound itself around her, knocked the Eye of Luna away, and tied her into a sack. The strangest thing was that the moment it touched her was also the moment it sent a flow of lava-hot emotion sweeping across her body. However, she did not panic even after she had been taken by surprise. Instead, she invoked every ounce of her celestial power in an attempt to rip the red ribbon into pieces. To her horror, the silver light that continuously flared up from her body inflicted as much damage to Enishi as a fly would upon a rock. This time, panic swallowed her whole, destroyed her balance, and pulled her down onto her knees.

"I'm... sorry, Chikane-chan," murmured Kannazuki Akari, who was kneeling beside her. It was then did she realize that one end of the ribbon was tied to the girl's little finger. It was then did she notice that the latter was sending a golden glow along the flimsy length of the former. It took her less than a second to know where that glow was headed. She gasped aloud in shock when the power of the Priestess of the Sun arrived at the Moon Crest on her back and proceeded to seep into her flesh. An instant later, she was sealed. In another flash of red light, the red ribbon vanished. With no strength left in her body and bitterness overwhelming her soul, she could do nothing to stop herself from plowing uncontrollably forward.

Surprisingly, she found herself caught in the gentle arms of the Priestess of the Sun instead of falling flat on her stomach afterward. Face pressed against the golden-haired girl's firm bosom, beneath which her heart was going wild, she felt her body being invaded with the little angel's warm. She thought she was melting like wax on a lit candle. She could not say even a word.

"I didn't come here to fight, Chikane-chan," the golden-haired girl whispered in a shaky voice as her hand combed through Aoi's tresses. "I came... because I wanted to see you and tell you something I've kept inside my heart all this time." Her beautiful face began to color. "A year ago, I met you in the Garden of the Roses and became your friend. Yet I never told you what I was thinking in my head the moment I first laid my eyes on your face." Her forefinger began to trace Aoi's lips. It was gentle, it was loving, and it was very warm. "A voice at the back of my head was urging me to kiss you and never stop. To tell you the truth, I still want to." Her expression grew saddened, her hand fell, and her mouth issued a quiet sigh. "But I guess it's too late for that now. What's the point of getting a kiss from you when you hate me so much?"

Staring speechlessly at the little angel, Aoi could feel her heart pounding madly in her chest. Unless she was entirely mistaken, Kannazuki Akari had must made a love confession to her. Blood rushed to her face and heated it up rapidly.

"You probably have never noticed... but I'm not capable of hating you, Chikane-chan," the other girl continued in her heartbroken voice. "No matter what you did to me, despite the fact that you almost killed my childhood friend, I still won't hate you..." tears welled up in those beautiful amethyst eyes, "because I love you more than anything in the world." Her hands rose to Aoi's cheeks, where she caressed them and held them gently while she, seemingly without thinking, drew her face closer and closer. Yet, the moment their lips were about to meet, the other Priestess realized what she was doing and pulled her head away.

Aoi's heart quivered painfully in her chest. She could see that the little angel was using up every ounce of her strength to stop herself from kissing her... even though it was killing her inside to do that. Tears dropped from the Priestess of the Sun's eyes and fell upon Aoi's cheeks. They were as hot as any fire. Then the full force of the confession hit her square in the face. Her mind began to unravel. She had always thought that the person the shorter girl was in love with was Oogami Souma. She had never suspected that the girl's romantic interest... was her.

"I did not draw the Eye of Aurora because I wanted to summon the Sword God," said the golden-haired girl. "I... only want to make your wish come true, Chikane-chan."

"My... wish?" Aoi heard herself repeat dully.

"I was the reason you abandoned humanity and joined the Dark God," Akari answered in a ragged voice. "I was the one who betrayed your feelings. I... only thought that you'd be happier if I wasn't around... I thought if I could give up my own life to summon the Sword God, the Immortals of Heaven would leave you be. I... only wish to give you a warm world without Orochi... and without me... the one you hate." She paused to swallow down a sob. "But in any case, I'm happy that I came here," she continued while dabbing at her face with her wide sleeves. It did nothing to stop the tears. "At least I could see you, hold you, and touch you one last time before I..." She stopped again and hugged Aoi as tightly as she could. After a few minutes, the golden-haired girl untied her arms from around Aoi's body, laid her gently upon the ground, rose to her feet, and picked up both Eyes of Heaven.

"I didn't think that I would need Kagetsuki and Akatsuya at the same time," she smiled sadly, "but two are better than one, I guess." Her amethyst eyes locked with Aoi's sapphire. In them there was nothing aside from unspeakable sadness. "Farewell, Chikane-chan." She turned around and walked away. Looking at her retreating figure, Aoi felt herself reeling back to the Priestess of the Sun's room three thousand year ago, where her hope, her dream, and her happiness were shattered in a heartbeat.

"No!!"_ Kannazuki Aoi screamed upon realizing that the golden ribbons that had attached to her arms and legs earlier seized control over her entire body. Although she never meant them to, she could still feel her own powers rising in her like the strongest tides. When her fingers started to move, all that her right hand was holding was air. When her fingers finished curving inwardly afterwards, her hand was holding a fully sheathed sword. It was the Eye of Luna, Kagetsuki. There was nothing she could do except watching her left hand wrap around the scabbard and took it off. After it had dropped the blue scabbard onto the ground, it joined her right hand in holding the sword's hilt in such a way that the Eye's tip was aimed toward the heart of the Priestess of the Sun. "Please don't make me do this, Akari! I beg of you!" _

_The Priestess of the Sun said nothing. She simply closed her eyes and lowered her own sword. _

_Kagetsuki, driven by Aoi's own hand, ran the golden-haired girl through. _

_A full-throated wail left Aoi's throat and echoed endlessly inside the room just as the little angel fell backward and landed on her back upon the floor with the blade of the Eye of Luna still buried in her body. Shortly after that, the bindings she had cast on Aoi's body vanished and dropped her on her front on the tatami mat. The seal that the Priestess of the Sun had placed on the Moon Crest was also undone. Celestial powers returned to her body and replenished her physical strength. _

"Akari!"_ She crawled to her sweetheart's side and cradled her limb body in her arms. _"Why did you have to do this, Akari?!"_ She wept. _

_ "I never had a choice from the beginning, Ao-chan," the little angel mumbled weakly. "And please, don't pull out the sword, I beg you," she added upon seeing Aoi's hand dashing toward the hilt of the blood-stained sword. _

"But... but... I can't heal you without removing it..." _Aoi cried. _

_"I'll... die immediately if you try that anyway, so leave it alone... please..." Akari coughed, a stream of blood trickled out from the corner of her mouth. "Let me live for a little while longer... Let me look at my beloved Ao-chan and feel her touch a little more... before death takes me away, please..." _

_"You could have had all the time in the world to look at me in Onogoro, Akari." Aoi wept even harder. "You could have touched me, held me, and kissed me as many times as you wanted!" _

_"I know," the dying Priestess of the Sun replied, her amethyst eyes welled up with her own tears. "Believe me. I did want to go there with you. I did want to keep my promise." _

"Then why did you not?!"_ Aoi shouted. _

_"Because we are still... humans, Ao-chan," the golden-haired girl cried. "No matter where we escape to... we will have to die someday and return to the Cycle of Death and Rebirth. And what is going to happen when we do?" _

"I do not care!"_ Aoi buried her face into her sweetheart's golden hair and shouted as her tears matted those fine threads of pure gold together. _"I do not care!"

_"You know... don't you?" The Priestess of the Sun put her hand on Aoi's cheek and stroked it gently. "_You_ are the key to Project Kannazuki. Heaven would punish _you_ if _you_ didn't kill me and fulfill your mission... if _you_ left the world to die because _you_ wanted me to live... Should worse come to worst, they would absolve your duty as the Priestess of the Moon and destroy your soul." _

_"So what?" she sobbed. "I do not mind!" _

_"But _I_ do." Akari smiled sadly, her face growing paler with every minute that passed. "I don't want that to happen to you... because I want to meet you in every of my next incarnations... and I want to fall in love with you again every time we are reborn into this world." She paused to cough out a handful of blood that had traveled up her throat and filled her mouth. Pain twisted her beautiful face beyond recognition. _

_"I know I'm selfish," continued the little angel, who wrapped her arms around Aoi's back and buried her face in Aoi's bosom. "I know I will make you go through this hell over and over again... But if I ran away with you instead, I would lose you forever. I just... can't bear that thought... Ao-chan." Her blood-soaked body trembled. "Please forgive me..." _

_"But we would have been able to spend the rest of out lives by each other's side in the Human World, Akari!" _

_"You haven't been honest with me, my love." The Priestess of the Sun gave a hopeless chuckle. "You knew that we would never be able to spend a day in peace. Heaven would have looked for us. Yamata no Orochi would have hunted us. There was no place on Earth where we could hide..." Her hands clenched around the clothes on Aoi's back. "Compared to that, spending seventeen years by your side every time the Dark God is reborn is much better an option. At least... this way... I would be able to see you as long as the Cycle repeats. I... have no regret." _

_"Greedy Akari..." Aoi sobbed. "Stupid Akari..." _

_"I'm sorry," the golden-haired girl said, her voice growing weaker and weaker. "I have betrayed your feelings... and your trust... But please... forgive me..." Her arms fell to her sides, her breathing ceased, and her heart stopped. Aoi's beloved was no longer alive. _

_"You only think about yourself, Akari." Aoi's grasp on her sweetheart's body tightened as her whole self trembled wildly. "What meaning is there for _me_ to live on without you? What meaning is there for _me_ to go on with a life where I cannot see your smile and hear your laughter? You understand nothing at all..." _

"I hate you!" _Aoi threw her head back and screamed while sensing her entire existence ravel and feeling an excruciating pain tearing her whole self apart. Waterfalls of tears thundered down her cheeks while a molten flame burned beneath her skin. _"Why did you have to be so cruel?! Why did you have to leave me behind?! I hate you!!"

Suddenly it occurred to Aoi what the little angel was planning to do when she said she would give up her own life to summon the Sword God, when she picked up both Eyes of Heaven even though she thought she needed only one.

_"Stop!"_ she screamed as she bounded to her feet and hurried after the little angel. _"There is a trap in there! Come back, Himeko!" _

She was too late, for the golden-haired girl had already invoked her powers through the swords. Golden light erased the world.


	13. The Eyes of Heaven

_**EPISODE TWELVE: THE EYES OF HEAVEN.**_

* * *

Standing on the rocky ground of the moon with her eyes closed and her arms raised to her sides in a straight line, Kurusugawa Himeko tightened her grip around the Eyes of Heaven as much as she could before she invoked all the powers she possessed as the Priestess of the Sun. Godly strength raced from the deepest corners of her heart, surged along every fiber of her existence, and arrived at Kagetsuki and Akatsuya, which sucked them in like whirlpools would water. When she had given them enough, she opened her eyes. 

Golden light, which was fanning out like the ocean waves from under Himeko's feet, lifted her up into the starlit sky. Although the air of the moon was terribly cold already, it became even more so as its wind slashed at her face as though wanting to tear her skin apart. To her left was the blue Earth riding high above the horizon of the deserted Moon. To her right, the distant golden sphere that had been burning bright since the beginning of the ages. Hundreds of feet below her lay the remains of the Lunar Shrine, once her home three thousand years ago. What was now just a heap of wood and stones had been where her previous incarnation, Kannazuki Akari, used to spend the first seventeen years of her life with the one she loved most. Much further down, way beneath the dry crust of the sacred Moon, was the Sword God's Seal, Ame no Murakumo's concealed Dimensional Prison, and what she was going to break.

Her gaze fell upon the Eye of Aurora in her right hand then traveled to the Eye of Luna on her left, upon which it stayed while she sensed her hand tense around the Kagetsuki's hilt and felt her heart ache. It was her beloved princess's possession, designed for her and her alone. Himeko was but aware that in her own hand, Kagetsuki would never be able to draw its power from the moon and unleash its fearsome might the way the Himemiya heiress had. She did not need it, in any case. What she was aiming for was the Eye of Luna's ability to reconstruct itself into any magical weapon that she needed it to. That alone would suffice, for it would grant Himeko enough strength to accomplish the suicidal plan that had dawned upon her when Oogami-sensei showed her the secret manuscripts of the Oogami Clan.

_"This is the secret manuscript that has been passed down generation after generation in the Oogami Clan," the High Priest Oogami Kazuki announced to Kurusugawa Himeko in a solemn voice once he had handed her one of the two silk scrolls on the wooden tray. "Inside lies what is meant only for the eyes of the Kannazuki Priestesses." _

_After she had rolled out the manuscript, she began to read its content. Upon the silken surface were lines after lines of neatly and stylishly written scripts that told her the true reasons why the Eyes of Heaven were forged. One of them she already knew. The other she never thought possible. _

_First and foremost, Akatsuya and Kagetsuki were made to summon Ame no Murakumo by using the undefiled blood and untainted life force of a Priestess to disable the Thirteen Seals and open up the Core Sphere that kept the Sword God bound. Once he was free, the surviving Priestess were to use her own Eye of Heaven to seize control over his mind, make him pick up the other Eye, and force him to destroy the Dark God. And that was where the second purpose to the creation of the swords came into the picture. _

_The manuscript mentioned that Yamata no Orochi was in truth not the eight-headed dragon that the folklores and ancient texts always portrayed. The Dark God's real name, it revealed, was Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne the Seraphim Blade. To her surprise, she learned that the true form of humanity's greatest enemy was a crystal sword which could control the eight elements of nature at will. As such, he was inarguably one of the strongest swords ever made and might not be easy to defeat even when the Sword God had been freed and armed with an Eye of Heaven. _

_With that in mind, the Immortals gifted the Eyes the power to shapeshift into any magical weapon they had analyzed beforehand. In so doing, they had made it possible to the wielder of a True Key of Awakening to have it temporarily changed into the sword form of the Seraphim Blade itself and gain a considerable advantage in the battle to defend the world. _

_Troubled, she put the manuscript back on the wooden tray and told herself that she was not going to use the Eyes' first function against the Priestess of the Moon. Sacrificing the blue-haired princess to save humanity was not the reason for which she came down to this Enshrinement Chamber. _

_"And this," Oogami Kazuki picked up the other scroll and handed it to her, "is the Chronicles of the Swords, which contains all the information that mankind has gathered on the Elemental Blades," he said, then added in a serious tone, "You should pay extra attention to the last entry, for I believe it's vital in dealing with the Swords. Had it not been for Souma, we would have never known what it could do." _

_The Chronicles, as it turned out, described in details the functions of the Sealed Swords, forged from the unknown shards of metal that the Council of Priests had discovered after the first holy war. There were eight different sets of handwritings, each occupying a large section on the scroll, every single one dedicated to a Sealed Sword. Himeko read them carefully and tried her hardest to cramp the details into her head so that she had an idea of what to expect once she laid her hands upon the Eye of Aurora. Then, as Himeko proceeded toward the end, her eyes fell upon the last section of the scroll. It was the shortest one of them all, in which an Onmyouji from the Sumeragi Clan, the one responsible for the safekeeping of Tasogare and Hokuto, told of his encounter with the Twilight Blade. _

_According to the Onmyouji, he had absolutely no luck in wielding the Sword, for every time he tried to access the Twilight Blade, he was met with a barrier strong and thick as a mountain. While his colleagues became astonished by the prowess of the other seven Swords, he alone was stuck with a blade that refused to demonstrate its might. The Onmyouji, infuriated by Tasogare's lack of cooperation, abandoned his experiments with Tasogare and tried to forget that it ever existed. That was why no one in the last three thousand years had been able to figure out what powers Tasogare possessed. Although the section on the Twilight Blade concluded with bitter words of defeat, it was not the end of the scroll itself. Following it was another paragraph written by the current High Priest himself. _

_"__October the fifteenth,__"__ Oogami-sensei had written, __"Oogami Souma, younger brother to the Forty-sixth High Priest of the Oogami Clan, encountered the Eighth Head and three other Orochi, one of whom disclosed to him what Tasogare was capable of. According to the woman Follower, the Twilight Blade possessed supreme control upon all Seals and Barriers aside from the Shadow Element. Thanks to said abilities, Tasogare is impervious to the Voice of Sorrow, that which renders any other Blade useless. However, this piece of knowledge proves that we need to take desperate measures toward the Twilight Blade, for against it, no Barrier can protect us forever." _

_As soon as she finished reading those words, she sensed tears leaking out of the corners of her eyes. She had come here looking for a way to save the blue-haired princess and grant her wish. Now, she had found one._

The solution to all of her problems lies in the power of the Twilight Blade. Tasogare alone could help her prevent the Orochi from killing her beloved Chikane-chan when they succeeded in conquering the Earth. The Sealed Sword could return to the other girl the life she had before this whole mess had started. It certainly could make blue-haired princess smile happily again. Being the weapon that reigned supreme over all seals and barrier, the Twilight Blade was the only thing in this would that could allow Himeko to break through the Sword God's Thirteen Seals, rouse Ame no Murakumo from his eternal sleep, and pull the Orochi's nemesis out of the Core Sphere.

Akatsuya and Kagetsuki began to glow golden and silver in her hands, each fiercely demanding more and more power from her so they could perform the task that she had set them to. Knowing that they truly needed it, she gave them all she could spare. Once they had received enough, the two Eyes of Heaven disintegrated into an ocean of sparkling stars then regrouped as quickly as they had pulled apart and reemerged as two perfectly imitated Tasogare. Gazing at the pair of Twilight Blades that were hovering in front of her chest in such a way that their lower edges were level with the ground and their tips were pointing away from each other, Himeko firmed her resolve and decided that the time had come for her to put an end to this war between the humans and the Dark God. The instruments were ready. The stage had been set. The villain was present. All that was left to do now was summoning the hero of the story, who would bring forth her belated demise.

At the emergence of the twinned Tasogare, she was immediately gifted with a brand new vision. Not only did her eyes become sharper and clearer, they also allowed her the sight of something that had been hidden from the rest of the world. Now, her gaze was able to penetrate the surface of the devastated moon. Now, she was able to see that directly beneath the ruined Lunar Shrine lay a dimensional space protected by thirteen spherical barriers. She knew that they could be nothing other than the Core Sphere and the immensely powerful Thirteen Seals that made up the dimensional prison of the Sword God.

Having found her target, she extended her arms so that her hands were standing upright and her palms faced away from her chest. The two Tasogare then revolved around the empty space separating their hilts. As they did, they multiplied. The moment the two Twilight Blades finished switching place was also the one in which ten more had been created. Twelve of them now formed the spokes of a brimless vertical wheel stationed airborne in front of her chest. Mouth tightening, she put her right hand at the wheel's center and activated the power of the Swords.

As the jewels separating the blades and the hilts of the Tasogare became alight, darkness emerged at the latter and gathered into an orb black as the night around her hand. The wheel of Swords went round.

As though it was the surface of a pond disturbed by a rock, space literally rippled and sent invisible waves, originated from the black sphere, in every direction and gave Himeko the impression that they were pulling her particles apart. Once the last wave had passed her by, the black orb engulfing her hand began to pulse and made her think that perhaps she had fed it to a hungry lion. It gnawed at her finger, it crushed against her skin, and it sucked her power the way a vacuum machine would dust. Against her will, celestial power raced from the furthest corners of her body to her fingertips and ended up being consumed by the insatiable orb. Desperately she held her power back. She knew that unlike the Eyes of Heaven, Tasogare was far greedier. If allowed, it would left nothing in her and kill her before Ame no Murakumo showed up.

_I'm not letting that happen, Tasogare,_ she thought grimly._ I still need half of my power to control the Sword God and have him destroy the Seraphim Blade._

_"I command you, Lord of Shadows,"_ she intoned as she sent the last surge of power into the black orb,_ "destroy the Thirteen Seals!"_

The twelve Twilight Blades rang in an eerie melody, the black orb throbbed like a human heart, and countless fine threads made out of dark light shot toward the Lunar Shrine.

* * *

Standing several hundred feet away from the Priestess of the Sun with his body cloaked by an Invisibility Spell, Izanagi found his eyebrows climbing off his scalp. Once before he had had the surprise of his life when the Priestess of the Moon ignored the guidelines of the Project and joined forces with the Sinner Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne. As soon as he discovered what Kannazuki Aoi was planning to do, he had expected that Kurusugawa Himeko would take the blue-haired girl's place and followed the guidelines that had been established three thousand years ago. He was dead wrong. Now, in spite of himself, he was being taken aback by the other Priestess's suicidal attempt to free his son without drawing the blood of the disobedient Moon Priestess. He could not help it, for he knew that should the golden-haired idiot be allowed to continue what she was doing, the Human World would be thrown in chaos. 

Fury hissed in Izanagi's heart like a viper. _This cannot be happening!_ he thought.

At that moment, the Sun Priestess unleashed her powers through the twelve Twilight Blades. From the sphere throbbing around her hand came a myriad of black wires which punched through the surface of the moon and struck the first layer of the Thirteen Seals he wove shortly after imprisoning the Sword God. At the very moment of contact, the first Seal rippled before fading away like water vapors in the atmosphere. Soon, the rest of the Seals shared the same fate as the black wires punctured through them all and ultimately tied themselves around the Core Sphere, the last obstacle that stood between Kurusugawa Himeko and the Sword God. Being assaulted continuously by the devastating power of the wires, the Core Sphere began to writhe. Had it a mouth, it would scream. Had it limbs, they would thrash.

Izanagi massaged his forehead in a mix of frustration and somewhat awe. When he wove the Core Sphere and the Thirteen Seals, he had anticipated that somebody might try to break them in order to rescue Ame no Murakumo. However, the aggressor he had in mind then was Amaterasu, Susanou, or Kagutsuchi and certainly not one of the Kannazuki Priestesses. It was not that he trusted the two girls, he doubted he had ever trusted someone other than Yuusaku the Chief Messenger, he simply never thought either capable of even breaking though the first layer without draining themselves to death. To his surprise, Kurusugawa Himeko had proved more than able to completely destroy the Dimensional Prison itself. _Where did she gain such enormous power?_ he thought in dismay.

Shaking his head, Izanagi decided to forget about the Sun Priestess's mysterious supply of energy and racked his brain for a solution to the impending crisis. The golden-haired girl was about to open the gate of Ame no Murakumo's prison and die trying. Project Kannazuki was teetering on the brink of failure. Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne was still roaming free in Onogoro, unchallenged and unchecked. The more he thought about trying to solve those problems, the more hopeless he felt. Although he could directly intervene and save the Human World from its destruction, he would not. Doing so would mean that he would have to break the divine laws that he himself set forth. Doing so would turn him into a laughingstock for his enemies in the Underworld. And that he would rather die than see happening.

He sighed in frustration. There was nothing he could do other except leaving humanity to the mercy of the Seraphim Blade. In time, maybe he could devise another plan to save it... if there was still a Human World to save.

"Damn it all," he growled and considered returning to Izumo. After a second thought, he decided to stay and see through the end of this ridiculous struggle.

* * *

Standing high in the air, Kurusugawa Himeko watched the shape of the Core Sphere being distorted by the black threads she had tied around it while grimacing at the pain that kept jolting in her hand and made her felt as though needles were nettling its back. The black orb of light, ever hungry for more power, was actually doing more damage to her body than simply trying to crush her hand flat. Thanks to its consuming a massive amount of her power in such a short amount of time, her internal system had been strained to the point that it was currently breaking apart. Every few minutes, she would cough out blood that eventually dyed the front of her chihaya with the color red. She knew that if she continued to ignore the injuries, she would die very soon. The only problem was that she did not have time or the power to heal herself. The power she lost during the battle with the blue-haired princess was necessary. The power to heal she could not afford. Besides, she was going to perish in the end anyway, so she did not care too much about a few internally bleeding wounds. 

Slightly frustrated by the fact that the Core Sphere had yet to be destroyed, Himeko decided to send another amount of her energies into the black orb. The action took its toll on her immediately. The pressure that was building rapidly in her body almost caused her eyes to explode. Fierce currents of lightning surged in her nerves and threatened to burn them to dust. More blood came from her mouth, some of spilled onto the revolving Elemental Blades, where they sizzled and were vaporized an instant later. Her vision weakened, her head grew lighter, and her limbs became so weak that she had to consume every ounce of physical strength she had to keep herself airborne and her hand inside the black orb.

Nonetheless, her goal was achieved. The black threads seared through the Core Sphere, dissolved it, and revealed the dimensional prison that was hiding within. Hastily, she withdrew her hand, reduced the Twilight Blades to the original two copies, and finally returned them into their true shapes, the Twin Keys of Awakening. Airborne, she watched as a pair of humongous gates made from steel rose upward from a horizontally woven Dimensional Portal. Once they had fully emerged, they slowly opened and revealed the darkness beyond. The Sword God was about to be freed.

Drawing her attention away from Ame no Murakumo's prison, Himeko glanced downward at the place where she had spent quite a while conversing with the blue-haired princess. All she wanted to do was to gain a final glimpse of the one she loved before she used the rest of her power to control the Sword God. She had expected her Chikane-chan to be watching her with hatred burning in her sapphire eyes and satisfaction written across her gorgeous face. She had thought that the Priestess of the Moon would be more than joyous to see that Himeko was about to sacrifice her own life in the other girl's stead.

She was sorely mistaken.

On the ground was a panicking Priestess of the Moon who was desperately shouting something Himeko's ears could not catch. Her eyes widened, her jaw dropped, and her heart beat at the speed of light the moment she focused her magically enhanced hearing and finally realized what it was that the princess was trying to say.

_"Run, Himeko! It is a trap!" _

Space around her solidified at the exact same moment that thirteen magic circles emerged and formed a paper-thin spherical layer that trapped her at its heart and locked the Eyes of Heaven outside. To her horror, her powers began to withdraw from her like water down the drain while a great sphere of white light at least a hundred feet in radius materialized in the darkness beyond the steel gates. It was only then did she realize that she had dropped herself into boiling soup. It was only then did she understand the meaning of her beloved's words. What she was witnessing was in fact the activation of a hideous trap that no records had ever mentioned. It was the failsafe that the Immortals had placed in order to ensure that no one could release Ame no Murakumo by force.

Hopelessness filled her.

_Chikane-chan,_ was the last thought that crossed her mind before the great sphere of white light became a shining pillar and engulfed her whole.

* * *

After receiving a direct hit from Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne, Saotome Makoto found herself being hurled backward so quickly the scenery around her became a gray blur. In the end, she crashed into a wooden supporting beam of the Grand Shrine, snapped it cleanly in the middle, broke open a shoji door, tumbled inside an almost empty chamber, and had her back slammed upon a tatami mat. Pain erupted from every inch of her skin as a swarm of colorful butterflies swept across her vision. It hurt so badly that she couldn't even cry. 

Clutching her stomach with one hand and wiping the blood off the corners of her mouth with the back of the other, she struggled to sit up straight and cursed, "Damn it!" Never before in her life had she ever felt so dizzy, shocked, enraged, and embarrassed at the same time the way she was now. Never once since she was bestowed the Lord of the Shadows did she imagine that she could be beaten this badly by someone who did not even have a sword.

"Is this it, Eighth Head?" asked the Seraphim Blade, who was standing beyond the ragged opening of the chamber. Her wings, each of which glowing in a different color, were folded neatly behind her back. One of her hand was holding Tasogare – the woman had forced the Shadow Dragon to revert back into its Sword form and took it from Makoto's hand almost contemptuously within the first ten minutes of combat and sent her flying into here at the start of the eleventh – while her other one was smoothing a few strands of platinum hair in front of her chest. "Truth be told, I am very disappointed," she heaved a sigh, "for I thought you could do more with Tasogare. I guess I overestimated you."

"You condescending wench..." Makoto said, enraged.

The Seraphim Blade shot her a disapproving look. "Such language is unbecoming, Saotome Makoto."

"A weapon has no right to lecture a human on how she should speak." She smiled in satisfaction upon seeing that the ice-cold face of Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne was darkening in anger. She suspected that not many people dared say that to the woman's face.

"Since you were my favorite Follower, I had thought that I could be merciful and grant you a painless death," said the Seraphim Blade in a voice almost as sharp as the edge of the Twilight Blade in her hand. She walked forward. After every step she took, the power in her increased three-fold. As soon as she passed through the broken shoji door, it burst into flame and fell to dust in less than a heartbeat. When she reached the center of the room, she had massed so much celestial energy that comparing her with Makoto would be the same as comparing an ocean and a lake. "It seems that you preferred otherwise." Pressure rolled off the woman in waves, crashed upon every object in the chamber, and hurled them off of the surfaces on which they stood. Every fabric of space was vibrating. The ground was rumbling under the effect of a constant tremor. Shingetsu itself seemed on the verge of collapse. Makoto swallowed audibly in fright.

"You should feel honored," the Seraphim Blade told her, the former's hand raising Tasogare overhead. It began to pulse with its ominous black light. "Not many people can be buried with a Shrine as famous as this one." She swung it down in a vertical slash. Seeing that her demise was inevitable, Makoto watched Tasogare coming down on her head and waited to be turned into dust along with the last stronghold of mankind.

She never was.

Midway through her slash, Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne stopped abruptly, consequently leaving the edge of the Twilight Blade an inch from Makoto's face. The woman's gray eyes widened, her mouth hung open, and her head whipped around toward the opening of the room. Makoto was well aware that it was her one in a million chances to reclaim her Sealed Sword and stake it through the heart of the older woman. Yet, she couldn't, for she, too, was looking up the heavens and staring in shock at the silver moon. There she could sense an immense power being unleashed. There, the dimensional structure was being ripped into shreds by a power that could rival that of the Seraphim Blade.

_Himeko!_ she thought, taken aback. _She's using the power of the Twilight Blade to tamper with Ame no Murakumo's prison!_

"Just great," the platinum-haired woman muttered darkly. "Now I have to go and save my mortal enemy from that silly trap. Every self-respecting villain in the Three Worlds will laugh their head off when they know." She tossed the Lord of Shadows onto the ground like a piece of worthless trash before she spun on her heel and walked away.

"Hold on!" Makoto said as she bounded to her feet and laid a hand on one of the Seraphim Blade's colorful wings. The way the latter turned her head and shot Makoto a murderous look afterwards made her wish she had not. Swallowing again, she withdrew her hand and demanded, "What do you mean by trap?"

"The one Izanagi had set to protect his son's cage, what else?" replied Rinne, who narrowed her eyes in obvious annoyance. She then wove a Dimensional Portal and walked through it. The silvery surface thinned into a vertical line, compressed into a single point in the air, and vanished.

Chills ran down Makoto's back. Hastily, she retrieved Tasogare, opened her own Portal, and hurried through as soon as it was formed. She only hoped that Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne was in time to save her former roommate. Much as she hated relying on others, she knew full well that aside from the Seraphim Blade, no one could save the life of the one she loved.

* * *

Having fallen to her knees the moment the great column of light swallowed the Priestess of the Sun, Himemiya Chikane could only watch as the pair of steel doors swung shut and sank into the Dimensional Portal from whence they came. As soon as they had completely disappeared, the silvery surface winked out of existence. She did not have to have the vision gifted by the Twilight Blade to know that the Core Sphere had been reconstructed and the Thirteen Seals rewoven around the hidden prison of the Sword God, once again ready to spring and trap the next fool who came to disturb them. In the air, only one thing from the golden-haired girl remained. The little angel's tattered red ribbon, which she often used to tie her hair, was now fluttering in the cold air of the night of October. 

_Himeko,_ she cried wordlessly while feeling her hot tears burning on her cheeks._ Why did you never do what I wanted you to do? Why did you have to be so foolish?_

Her Priestess power suddenly welled up in her soul and reminded her that the effect of the Seal cast upon her body had worn off. It only made her weep harder. She had thought that by betraying the Immortals of Heaven and joining the ranks of the Dark God, she could die in her sweetheart's place. What she had accomplished, in truth, was pushing for the little angel's death. She had thought that she was preventing history to repeat itself. What she managed to do, in fact, was hastening its neck-breaking pace. Everything she had done up until this point was useless.

Her eyes began to wander the surface of the moon and stopped upon falling on the Eyes of Heaven, which were lying near the broken Torii Archway. _How convenient,_ she thought as she extended her right hand toward the Eye of Luna. Kagetsuki, suddenly trembled into life, lifted itself from the rocky ground and placed its hilt gently in her grasp.

_I shall be back to the Tower of Kannazuki to see you soon,_ she thought in bitterness, _so wait for me, Himeko._ She put the sword's edge against her throat and prepared to cut it.

"Three thousand years have passed, yet your tendency to jump to conclusion has never changed," spoke a woman's familiar voice, which stayed Chikane's hand completely.

Slowly, she turned her head to see who it was that had just spoken. To her astonishment, she found herself looking at the strikingly beautiful golden-haired woman who had appeared in Tate University Hospital to tell her where her sweetheart had gone. Then, the woman wore casual modern clothes. Now, her slender body was graced upon by a snowy hagoromo. Then, Chikane had not known her name. Now, she did. The older woman was none other than Amaterasu the Goddess of the Sun, who was proclaimed the most beautiful person in the Three Worlds. Yet, it was not the famous Immortal, rumored to be one of the strongest deities in Izumo, who held Chikane's attention. It was the person who stood next to the Goddess. It was a girl whose white chihaya was dyed with blood, whose golden hair was in disarray, whose amethyst eyes were shining with moisture, and whose face was painted with concern and love.

"Himeko..." Chikane felt her mouth form the word. Tears, which were already streaming down her face, became a flood. Relief and gratitude toward the Immortal swelled in her heart. It was Amaterasu who had saved the little angel, she was sure. No one else would have and could have.

The Priestess of the Sun, who had started walking toward her the moment she uttered her name, fell onto her knees in front of her. There, she lifted both of her hands and placed them gently on Chikane's cheeks. There, she whispered with the tip of her nose an inch away from that of Chikane's own, "You... called... a name just now." Her voice was shaky and soaked with emotion. Her heart was beating loudly beneath her gentle chest. "Will you do it one more time?"

"Himeko..." Chikane heard herself call again, this time in a little louder and a great deal more affectionate manner. With the restraints she had placed upon herself completely shattered by the feelings that were exploding in her heart, she threw her arms around the little angel and buried her face in the other girl's chest. _"Himeko!"_ she cried. _"You dummy! You heartless dummy! You selfish dummy!"_ Her left hand was clutching at the lapels of the other girl's blood-soaked chihaya, her right thumping repeatedly on her sweetheart's arm. Only very absently did she hear a soft chuckle and an amused "Oh my" escaping from Amaterasu's lips. It was not that she cared much about what the glorious Immortal was doing, though. All her attention was placed on the beautiful girl who had wanted to kiss her and had told her that she loved her more than anything in the world.

"I'm... sorry! I'm sorry, Chikane-chan!" the golden-haired girl said hastily, sounding hurt and shocked at the same time. Chikane doubted that her beloved had any idea what she was apologizing for. The little angel did try to calm her down, though, by letting her hand gently stroke the small of Chikane's back. It only made her weep harder.

"Why did you go off to open the Seals on your own?!" she cried, her hands now simply clutching the clothes on the other girl's shoulder. "What am I supposed to do if they killed you, you ignorant girl?!"

"Wouldn't you be... happier?" The Priestess of the Sun used both of her hands to lift Chikane's face up so that they could look at each other in the eye. Their noses were close enough for Himeko's breath, searing hot and crisply fragrant, to caress her skin. "I thought... you wanted to kill me."

"I live for you. I am willing to die for you," she sobbed. "How am I supposed to kill you?!"

"But I... don't understand..." the golden-haired girl whispered as she moved even closer and began to kiss away the tears on Chikane's face with her lips. They were very soft, they were very warm, and they made her feel numb every time they touched. "If you... feel that way about me, why did you do all these terrible things?"

Not answering the question, Chikane placed a trembling right hand upon the Sun Priestess's forehead.

"What are you doing, Chikane-chan?" the girl asked hesitantly.

"Showing you the truth." After a flash of silver light, Chikane's memories, which were locked in the darkest corners in her heart, rushed into her sweetheart's mind.

* * *

Standing high in the sky of the moon, Saotome Makoto let out a deep sigh upon seeing her rival the Priestess of the Moon leapt into her crush the Priestess of the Sun's arms. The more she watched the former cry her eyes out atop the latter, the more irritated and hopeless she became. Some part of her was gladdened, however, at seeing that the golden-haired girl was safe and sound despite being slightly hurt. Had something worse happened to Himeko, Makoto would have gone after Himemiya's life even if it would cost her own. 

Heaving another sigh, she withdrew her gaze from the two girls, one crying and one trying to calm the other down, and placed it on the person who was standing a few feet away and confining herself to quiet chuckles. It was an Immortal with long golden-hair that seemed to shine without any source of illumination, body clad in a snowy hagoromo that were radiating strange sense of power, and a beauty even Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne did not possess. Yet, what surprised Makoto most was the unknown woman's potential. She was as powerful as the Seraphim Blade herself. That Makoto certainly never expected.

_I wonder who she is,_ she thought.

Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne, who had arrived in the airspace of the moon a minute ahead of Makoto and was now standing next to her, suddenly spoke up, "Although I knew Kurusugawa Himeko to be an airhead, I never thought she was this much of an idiot." From the woman's casual tones, no one would have believed that just a few minutes ago she almost succeeded in utterly destroying Makoto. "If Tasogare could free Akira, he would not be in there right now." The dark and snappish quality of her voice told Makoto that the Seraphim Blade had tried something similar to what Himeko did and was slapped down by failure. She resisted the urge to laugh.

"I honestly did not know what I would do had she died in that blast," the platinum-haired woman continued absently. It was only then that Makoto realized that Rinne was talking to herself, not to anyone else in particular. She guessed after three thousand years of solitude, anybody would have gone a little crazy in the head, much less a tormented woman who spent every of her waking moment trying to cling to the memories of the man she loved. "For that, I suppose I need to thank her." Her gray eyes swiveled toward the golden-haired Immortal who was standing on the ground and watching the Priestesses of the Sun and Moon with open interest. "What are you trying to do, really, Amaterasu-nee-sama?"

The name nearly knocked Makoto out of balance. "Amaterasu?!" she breathed. "The Goddess of the Sun?!" She could not believe that she was looking at the Immortal whose fame surpassed that of any other of the Heavenly World.

"Do you think there is any other Goddess who has golden hair _and_ eyes?" The Seraphim Blade made her claim the most obvious thing in the world. Makoto opened her mouth and would have told Rinne a few choice words had she not remembered that she probably did not want to provoke the woman who could kill her as easily as not. Anger still boiled in her, though.

After shooting her an annoyed look, Rinne returned her attention to the Goddess of the Sun and began to narrow her eyes at the latter, appearing to be pursuing her own thoughts. Were Makoto to guess, she would say that the Seraphim Blade was trying to come up with a way to make Himemiya Chikane and Kurusugawa Himeko kill each other... but not quite succeeding. The Priestesses of the Moon were already a force to be reckoned with. Now that someone as power as Amaterasu, who appeared to be very keen on protecting the two girls, had appeared, she seriously doubted that the platinum-haired woman could harm a hair on either's head.

Suddenly, something flickering at the edge of her vision caught her attention and turned her head. Down low, the blue-haired heiress of the Himemiya empire had placed a hand on the other girl's forehead. Soon, silver light flooded out from where their skin met as a vacant expression crept across their faces. Makoto knew that Himemiya could be doing nothing other than showing her counterpart the memories that she had been hiding in her heart. Makoto's heart ached painfully in her chest. Now that the Moon Priestess had showed the Sun one the truth, Makoto no longer had any chance to win over the love of her former roommate. Everything she had done up to this point, as it turned out, was useless.

_Himemiya Chikane, how is it possible that you can have everything you want?_ she thought bitterly. _You were born into great wealth. You are more beautiful than most girls. You fell in love with someone who loved you more than anyone else. It's not fair._

She sighed. Although she thought that way, she knew full well that the Priestess of the Moon deserved Himeko's love. The conversation that she had with Himemiya Chikane, she called herself Kannazuki Aoi then, in the back garden of the Temple of the Dragons was the proof.

_"Tell me now, Himemiya! What are you planning to do with Himeko and with us?" Saotome Makoto demanded roughly. Her patience was growing thin, her time short. Unless she concluded the affair with Kannazuki Aoi soon, the Dark God was going to detect the presence of the dimensional space she had constructed and suspect that something was going on. She could not afford that. _

_Not answering the question, the blue-haired girl simply gazed at the image that was being shown on every wall of this dimensional vision with a face that spoke volumes of sadness. Unable to help herself, Makoto too, looked. What she saw was the interior of the Kannazuki Tower, the crystal structure that was hidden beneath the surface of the Memories Sea most of the time. At the very top of the Tower of Agony floated the Mirror of Life, from which crystal chains emerged and coiled around two cross-shaped Altars revolving soundlessly around the Mirror itself. Chained to each of these Altars was a stone statue of a girl in Priestess outfit. What had struck Makoto like a slap across her face the first time she laid eyes on them was not the fact that those two were exact replicas of Kurusugawa Himeko and Himemiya Chikane, but that both of them must have been frozen in time at the exact moment in which they were trying to reach for each other. Their right arms were outstretched. Their bodies were leaning forward as thought they were running toward one another. And their expressions showed just exactly how painful and heartbroken they had to be feeling in their hearts. As soon as she noticed those details, she had experienced a hurricane of emotions that threatened to pull her down to her knees and make her weep. _

_"I daresay that it isn't the face of someone who harbored a grudge against the Priestess of the Sun," she muttered. _

_"No, it is not," the Priestess agreed, her sapphire eyes still being fixed longingly upon the image. "You know as well as I do that I have never had a grudge against her. Nor will I, as long as the Cycle still turns the world." _

_"Then why did you say that she was a heartless and cruel betrayer?" Makoto demanded heatedly. _

_"Because that was who she was." Kannazuki Aoi gave her a sad smile. The icy expression she had used to confront Yamata no Orochi and the Heads was nowhere in sight. The murderous aura that she had given out during her battles with Nekoko and Girochi Miyako could have never existed. "You know that it was I who had killed the Original Priestess of the Sun." It was not a question. _

_"I do," Makoto said. When her process of Sealing the power of the Sun Crest, which took place two days ago, failed due to the unexpected appearance of a red ribbon, she had been dosed with a storm of images, one of which portrayed the scene where Kannazuki Aoi had driven her blade through Kannazuki Akari's heart. That had been the reason why she sought the answer in the Memories Hall, where Susanou no Mikoto the God of Storms told her everything about the inhuman Project. _

_"It was never meant to happen," declared the Priestess of the Moon in a voice overflowed with bitterness. "On that day, she was supposed to flee with me to Onogoro, where we would hide from both Heaven and the Dark God." _

_"She never did," Makoto muttered. If she had, she would never have been killed. _

_"No she did not," Kannazuki Aoi confirmed her suspicion. "She never intended to. She lied to me because she wanted me to calm down and lower my guard. Once I did, she manipulated me with Akatsuya and had me sacrifice her to summon the Sword God." _

_Makoto let out a loud gasp. She hadn't expected to hear that. "Why did she do such a thing?!" _

_"Because she was selfish," the blue-haired girl answered. "She was aware that even if we managed to outrun our enemies, we would have to return to the Cycle in the very end. She feared the Immortals would destroy my soul to punish my disobedience. She wished to see me again when we were reborn into the world." _

_"Is that so," Makoto said darkly. It would seem that the Original Sun Priestess's love had transferred into Kurusugawa Himeko whole. _

_"The sad thing was that even after she shattered all my hopes and dreams, I could not force myself to hate her," the Moon Priestess continued after giving an exasperated sigh. "If anything, my love for her only grew during every day we spent apart. Even now, I am still..." She stopped and took a deep breath as though trying to calm her emotions. _

_"Even now, you're still trying to save her from her fate as a sacrifice," Makoto finished for her. _

_A soft nod was the answer that she received. _

_"How are you going to do that?" she asked curiously. _

_"Shall I show you?" asked the blue-haired girl, who lifted her hand and placed it upright in front of her. _

_"Very well." Makoto withdrew a fraction of her power from Tasogare before she pressed her palm against that of the Priestess and delved into the depth of her memories. Darkness consumed her. _

_When she could see again, she had been reduced into a transparent figure standing in a spacious rectangular chamber made entirely from rocks. She was not alone. Near the center of the chamber, where a large ice pillar connected the ceiling with the floor and five columns of light were glowing ominously, stood the Priestess of the Moon and the High Priest Oogami Kazuki, who was on his knees and apparently very nervous. _

_"Just so you know, High Priest," said Kannazuki Aoi, whose sapphire eyes were fixed on the face of the High Priest to make sure her words were driven home. From the way he flinched, her gaze could have been an arrow, "as of now, the objective of the Project has changed. I will not let them toy with my life any longer." _

_"But it's treason against the Gods of Heaven!" the man burst, face drenched with horror. "You could not possibly be..." _

_"I am." A tap of the Priestess's finger on the hilt of her sword snapped his mouth shut. "And you would not stand in my way, would you?" _

_"No, Aoi-sama." Oogami Kazuki swallowed. _

_"Very well." She nodded, seemingly pleased at the obedient tone of the man who happened to be old enough to be her father. _

_"If I may inquire, Aoi-sama," he said hesitantly after a while, "what did you mean when you said that the objective of the Project has changed?" _

_"I meant that I would not let anyone, including the Immortals, take away the life of Kurusugawa Himeko." Sapphire eyes regarded him calmly, frostily, and threateningly. The message was clear. If the man dared voice a word against her decision, he would not even live to regret it. He understood that, so he snapped his mouth shut the instant after he had opened it in protest. Then he shivered. _

_"There is no need for you to panic," the Priestess continued. "You will still have your sacrifice. It will just _not_ be Himeko." _

_"That means..." the middle-aged man gasped, "it's going to be _you_, Aoi-sama?!" _

_"Correct." Aoi nodded. "My blood shall flow to summon the Sword God, just as you and your honorable superiors wanted." Her voice was racked with sarcasm. Although Oogami Kazuki heard it, he did not show any sign that he was offended. _Or maybe too scared to show,_ Makoto thought. _

_"You're aware that Kurusugawa-san must be the one who drive her blade through your body, aren't you?" he said. "Blood of a Priestess, drawn by another Priestess, shall open the door to the sanctuary of the savior. There's no other way." _

_"If you are implying that Himeko is not up for the task, be at ease." The blue-haired girl gave a quiet chuckle. "I have ways to make her hate me enough to kill me with her own hands." _

_"As you say," the man muttered noncommittally, his eyes filled with sheer disbelief. Whatever Aoi had said, the man clearly doubted that she would be able to attain her goal. He was sharp, for he had realized that the Priestess of the Sun was too deeply in love with the Priestess of the Moon to even think of hurting her, let alone actually do it. Makoto suspected that he wasn't going to offer his opinion, though. The blue-haired girl was so certain that her plan would work and that there was no other alternative that she would not listen even if he slapped sense against her face. _

_"Now, here is your order, lowly servant," announced the Priestess. "Tomorrow, at seven in the morning, you will command your Orochi brother to come to my house and fetch Himeko." Oogami Kazuki opened his mouth, probably to ask why, and closed it firmly at a sharp look from Aoi. "After that, he is to bring her to this very Chamber, keep her here, and wait for me to arrive. When I do, none of you will be allowed to go near us until I deploy my powers. Need I make myself clearer?" _

_The middle-aged man swallowed audibly and said, "No, Aoi-sama." Makoto could tell that although questions were bubbling in his mind, he did not dare ask a one of them. _

_"Once my business here is concluded, I will come to the Temple of the Dragons," the Priestess added as though an afterthought. It very nearly knocked Oogami Kazuki out in surprise. _

_"But... but..." he stammered. _

_Kannazuki Aoi rode right over him as though he never spoke, "There, I will read Yamata no Orochi and his underlings a story that you will repeat to Himeko word for word." Then she proceeded to tell the man all that she had said during the Audience earlier with the Dark God. The more the High Priest listened, the lower his jaw fell and the wider his eyes stretch. When the blue-haired girl finished, he couldn't seem to close his mouth or return his bulging eyes to normal. _

_It was essentially a complete lie told from nothing but the truth. Kannazuki Aoi managed to make it sound as though she was the sacrifice and Kannazuki Akari her executioner even though she never once said so, thanks to her omitting vital pieces of information from the story. That had been how she convinced everybody from the audience except her that she ran to the Orochi's side because she did not want to die. it was in fact the opposite. She came... because she wished to die in the Priestess of the Sun's place. That, no one could have guessed. _

_"You seriously don't think that you can deceive the Dark God, do you?" the High Priest asked in utmost incredulity. _

_"I do," Aoi answered coldly. "The prospect of having a Priestess join forces with him will lay all his doubts to rest." _

_"But..." the man insisted. Judging by the look he was giving the girl, he obviously thought that she was out of her mind. Aoi noticed it, and she was not pleased by the expression. Her face hardened, grew much icier, and became absolutely murderous. Oogami Kazuki immediately swallowed the rest of his words. _

_"I am aware that my plans have fault," she said in a voice that made her face seem soft, warm, and friendly, "but do you think that I have any other choices? Do you think that I am going to do nothing and see Himeko die in my arms again?" She never neither moved from where she stood nor drew herself up to make herself taller, but her presence grew dramatically in the rocky chamber. The man who was kneeling at her feet at the moment seemed to want to shrink himself to a speck of dust the way he involuntarily shied back from her piercing gaze. _

_"I... I don't mean that, Aoi-sama," he protested. _

_"Oh?" A snowstorm raged in the blue-haired girl's voice. "Then you the silent but ever so faithful lapdog of Heaven would like to offer me a better plan, perhaps?" Her sapphire eyes narrowed dangerously. "If you do, _speak_!" _

_"I... don't," the man said grudgingly and dropped his own gaze. _

_"Good," said the Priestess, who then turned to face the ice pillar standing nearby with a face that was even colder. No longer being subjected to her frightening gaze, Oogami Kazuki heaved a soft sigh of relief and began to dry the sweat on his face with the long sleeves of his yukata. _

_"If I may ask one last thing, Aoi-sama," he spoke up after a while. _

_"What is it?" The blue-haired girl never bothered to turn and face him. She did not even look at him over her shoulder. Makoto chuckled. She really wondered what the people of Mahoroba would do when they see that the High Priest whom they revered was being treated no better than a worthless servant by the princess of the Himemiya. _

_"How am I going to explain things to Kurusugawa-san afterwards?" _

_"Invent some story on your own," Kannazuki Aoi replied. "Whatever you can come up with, however, you will stress that Himemiya Chikane had been killed by Kannazuki Aoi, the Priestess of the Moon." He only had time for a surprised "Eh?" before the girl waved her hand dismissively and said, "You have my leave to go." Her tone left no false impression that she wanted to be alone in the chamber and that if the High Priest valued his life, he would do as she wished. _

_"As you command, Aoi-sama." He offered the blue-haired girl's back a bow with his forehead touching the rocky ground before he scrambled to his feet and hurriedly climbed up the stairs as though hell was on his heels. _

_Darkness blinded Makoto's vision. When it cleared, she was standing solidly once more in the back garden of the Temple with her palm pressed against that of the Priestess. _

_"Do you understand now, Saotome Makoto?" said Kannazuki Aoi, whose hand fell limply back to her side. _

_She nodded. "You hurt Himeko and joined the Orochi because you wanted to give her an excuse to kill you. You planned it all along." _

_"Indeed." The blue-haired girl sighed and looked at the images on the walls. Her expression once again grew longing and sad. _

_"Who said you didn't have any other choice?" Makoto muttered. "You can just..." Her voice faltered. She had just realized what was wrong with what she was about to suggest. There was no way in hell Kannazuki Aoi would let that happen, she was sure. _

_As if able to read her mind, the Priestess gave her a sad smile and said, "do what Akari did to me three thousand years ago?" She slowly shook her head. "What do you think would happen to that kind-hearted girl after I forced her to kill her best friend, may I add against her wish?" _

_Makoto did not answer. There was no point in doing that, for both of them knew too well that Kurusugawa Himeko, a person who never wanted to hurt anybody else, much less someone dear to her, would live the rest of her days in torments. That was, of course, if she did not commit suicide first. _

_"My world died the moment she drew her last breath three thousand years ago," Kannazuki Aoi continued in a voice plagued by genuine anguish. "I do not wish to see the same thing happen to her, Saotome Makoto. It is better if she can kill me in hatred and live happily for the rest of her life." _

_Shame fastened its claws around Makoto's heart. No matter how much she hated the Priestess, she couldn't deny that everything the girl had done was for Himeko's own good even if it meant sacrificing herself in the bitter end. Makoto, on the other hand, only tried her best to claim her former roommate as hers without really thinking of what the girl truly wanted. Compared to Kannazuki Aoi, who was disgustingly noble in her purpose, she was nothing but a selfish and jealous person. _

_"Why did you command Oogami Kazuki to tell her that you, I mean Himemiya Chikane, were dead?" she asked after she had found her voice again. _

_"Because it will give her no hesitation in killing me once she knows that her best friend is no longer there," the Priestess answered. "Besides, I have already discarded my humanity, my love for her, and everything else that embodies the person you know as Himemiya Chikane, she is no different from being dead." _

_"I see," Makoto muttered darkly and began to pursue the thoughts in her head. After a while, she suddenly realized that the other had just said something to her. "__I'm sorry, what was that?" _

_"I asked if there was any other question you wished to ask me, Saotome Makoto," Kannazuki Aoi said in a patient voice and with a satisfied smile. _

_"No," Makoto responded weakly. "I'll... release you."_

After that conversation, Makoto's loyalty was directed toward the Priestess despite the fact that she never liked the girl any better. It was just that since she was trying her best to protect Himeko from her fate, Makoto could not afford to let anything happen to her before her plan came to fruition. That was why Makoto helped her in taking down the First and Third Heads. It had not been pleasant for her, in any case. Every time she recalled how she had helped her rival in killing her own brethren, she wanted to gnash her teeth.

"What are you trying to do, nee-sama?" Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne's voice took Makoto back to reality, in which she saw the Goddess of the Sun approaching the two Priestesses with a golden glow enveloping her entire body.

* * *

When Himemiya Chikane withdrew her hand from the forehead of the beautiful girl in whose embrace she was cradled, she felt as though she had stripped herself bare. Now that Himeko had learned the truth, everything was over. 

"Chikane-chan," the little angel called. Her voice was tearful, her face was red, and her amethyst eyes were welling up with tears. "You did all these things just for me... why?" Her hands were on Chikane's cheeks again. Her skin was aflame. Her heart was beating at the speed of light. Her soul seemed about to burst with emotions.

"Because... I love you," she said, trembling. Those were the words she had hidden inside her heart during the one year she stayed by golden-haired girl's side. She had meant to say it to the little angel and let her know that Chikane's heart longed for her every moment she lived. Yet she had never found the courage to before Oogami Souma intruded into their blissful lives and doomed her hope of receiving her sweetheart's love in return

"I... I have waited to hear those words ever since I met you, Chikane-chan," Himeko managed between the sobs before she pulled her face closer and did not stop until her lips met Chikane's in a kiss that ignited a roaring flame from the pit of her stomach. Just when she thought that she was going to melt into a puddle, she felt her beloved's arms wrapping around her body and pulled her so close she could sense the golden-haired girl's heart beating madly against her chest and feel the little angel's incredible body heat soak into every fiber of her existence. Meanwhile, the other Priestess's soft and sweet lips never stopped caressing hers, pulling at hers, and urging hers to reciprocate. With tears spilling from the wells of her eyes, she surrendered to the heat of the moment and returned the kiss with all the love and intensity that she could muster.

Suddenly, the little finger on her right hand grew so warm that she thought it was on fire. In the instant that followed, red light flashed fiercely around them and forced them to stop their sweet dances of lips and pull away from each other. When Chikane could see again, she found the presence of the thin red ribbon that had defeated her moments ago. However, instead of a spiral that soared into the starlit Heaven, it was now only a short segment one end of which was tied to Himeko's left little finger and the other to Chikane's right. Her surprise changed into amazement as soon as she noticed the immense current of power coursing along the silken fabric. She did not think that she ever held a tenth of that at her full strength.

Amazed, she turned to look at her sweetheart, who looked back at her with equal astonishment. It was only then that she noticed that something else was flowing along the ribbon and came directly into her soul. A staggering wave of amazement washed over her as she realized that it was her beloved's emotions. She could feel Himeko's love spreading endlessly like the heat of the midday sun. She could taste the golden-haired girl's longing toward her as clearly as she would a spoonful of condensed honey. For all she knew, she could have been in the little angel's head.

"I see that you have discovered the special power of Enishi, children," a melodious voice spoke atop her head and reminded her that she and her sweetheart were not alone.

Looking up, Chikane saw Amaterasu the Goddess of the Sun standing over them. Her lips were wearing a smile that she always did whenever she wanted to tease someone. Her golden eyes were alternating between the little angel's face and Chikane's own in an obvious effort to inform them that the High Immortal had been there and watching them from the start. Her breath caught at the realization. Her face could have been on fire. _She saw me kiss Himeko,_ she thought in distress. _She is going tease us for the rest of our lives! _Being the infamous prankster of Heaven, Amaterasu could even tease a rock and embarrass it until it exploded.

Hastily scrambled away from the gentle and loving arms of her sweetheart, whose mouth issued a regretful sigh immediately afterwards, Chikane settled primly on her knees, leaned forward, placed her palms upon the rocky ground, and bowed down low enough for her forehead to touch the cold surface of the moon. When she realized that her lover – her face burned even more furiously at the thought – was still looking in utter confusion at the Goddess of the Sun, she panicked and gestured urgently for the golden-haired girl to follow suit. She did.

"Praises be to your name, Amaterasu-sama," Chikane intoned and put as much respect into her words as possible.

The little angel gasped. "Amaterasu... the Goddess of the Sun?" Her voice grew shaky with awe and shock. "But you told me your name was Yui..."

"And it's perfectly alright for you to call me so," the Goddess replied. "And you, little Aoi, how many times do you have to tell you that the formalities you do with your mentor aren't necessary with me? Rise, now, both of you." Her voice was touched with exasperation.

Chikane swallowed audibly. In her panic and embarrassment at having her intimate moment seen by someone who had been her friend three thousand years ago, she had forgotten that unlike the other haughty Immortals of Heaven, Amaterasu never wanted the formal treatments from people whom she liked. In fact, if someone insisted to act deferential to her just because of their lower station, she would most likely get mad. And once she did... she would pull terrible tricks on them until they begged her to stop and promised to forget the formalities.

Slowly, she stood up and motioned her sweetheart to do the same. Her heart leapt onto her throat, however, the instant the left hand of the golden-haired girl sought her right and interlaced with it in a firm but loving grasp. Although the little angel, face crimson, dropped her gaze in embarrassment when the Goddess of the Sun glanced at her teasingly with her golden eyes, she refused to let go and moved closer to Chikane until their shoulders touched. Despite having touched each other before, once or twice intimately enough to set her face on fire, the feeling of joy she was currently experiencing just from holding the little angel's hand was so strong she was afraid that her heart would give in and burst.

"Now where were we?" The Goddess of the Sun cleared her throat and looked at the thin red ribbon entwining Chikane and Himeko's little fingers. "Yes, about the Red Thread of Fate." The name rang in Chikane's ears like thunder.

She gasped. "You mean that this is the personal weapon of the Regent of the Underworld?" Rumor had it that after she and the Ruler of Heaven had forged the Mirror of Life, Izanami of Reiha had immediately regretted her decision and set out to make a weapon that could be used against Inochi no Kagami should it ever fall into the wrong hand. The name of the weapon she made was the Red Thread of Fate.

"Correct." Amaterasu gave her a smile.

"How... did it end up in our possession?" she asked.

"I gave it to you three thousand years ago," the Goddess answered.

"When?" Chikane's eyebrows tried to climb up her scalp. "I do not remember!"

"You will now." The High Immortal held up her hand so that her palm faced skyward. From it sprang up an orb of what seemed to be liquid platinum. At its appearance, Chikane drew a cold breath. It was a Memories Sphere. "It is time for you to be reminded of the wager we had made against the will of Heaven itself," Amaterasu continued before she bent her wrist and consequently sent the orb flying straight toward Chikane's forehead. At the moment of contact, light flooded her vision and swept her consciousness away.

_Once she had sent the Sword God Ame no Murakumo back into his dimensional prison, Kannazuki Aoi casually tossed Kagetsuki away, knelt down by the side of the lifeless body of her beloved, and cradled her in her arms. Then she rose back to her feet and proceeded toward the entrance of the Lunar Shrine. Bitterness and agony were all she felt in her heart. It was ironic that she, the person who had vanquished Yamata no Orochi and restored peace as well as order to Onogoro, was feeling that way when the mortals were rejoicing in every corner of their pathetic world. She but wondered how they would react when they learn that she would have let them burn in the fire of the Dark God had it not been for the fact that her beloved wished otherwise. Akari had died hoping that they would meet again in their next life. For that, Aoi was willing to save the people whose lives meant absolutely nothing to her. _

_As she entered the Shrine, she realized that she could no longer sense the presence of her motherly mentor. It was a good thing indeed, Aoi told herself. This way, she did not have to ask the Goddess to leave the moon or explain why she had to do so immediately. _

_After kneeling down in front of the Altar in the Hall of Worship with the body of the Sun Priestess in her arms, she began to feel suffocated by the memories they had made in this spacious chamber. As hot tears rolled down her face and ultimately fell on the pale face of the girl cradled tightly in her embrace, she could not help but recall the day they had confessed their feelings and pledged their eternal love. After a while, it became so painful for her that she forced herself to stop. A heartbroken sigh escaped from her mouth as she raised her hand over her head and unleashed her power. _

_Flames burst from the wooden rafter and quickly spread to the supporting beams. Soon, the entire Hall of Worship shared the same fate. She doubted it would take more than a minute for the fire to envelop the entire Shrine, burned it to the ground, and buried her along with her childhood friend with it. _

_"You are going to be pleased, my love," she whispered to her sweetheart softly as her hand stroked the girl's head. "You once told me that when we left this world, you wanted us to be in the same grave. The Shrine will be ours, then. Most fitting, I would say. After all, everything in this place is soaked with our memories. It will do well for a grave." As if wanting to emphasize her words, some wooden blocks on the burning rafter broke out, fell down, and unfortunately missed her by a few feet. Heat crashed against her in waves as black smoke began to fill the air she breathed. She only wished they would hurry up and send her back to where she belonged. _

_As it turned out, they were not going to for at least another while. To her dismay, a protective dome-like field had been laid within the chamber and stopped anything harmful from reaching her. She could hear the sound of fury hissing fiercely in her heart. She did not calm down even after she identified the person who had created the barrier. _

_"Please leave, Amaterasu-sama," she told the Goddess of the Sun in an icy voice. Although the High Immortal had been her friend, her presence at the moment was absolutely unwanted. _

_"I'm afraid I have to postpone your trip back to Kannazuki Tower," the golden-haired woman, standing a few steps behind Aoi's back, declared dryly. _

_"Akari is waiting for me there. I do not wish to make her wait any longer. Goodbye, Amaterasu-sama." She pressed her right palm against her heart. The power left in her should be more than enough to conjure another fire and had it burn through her chest. She doubted even the Lord of Izumo could stop her this time, let alone his far less powerful daughter the Goddess of the Sun. _

_"I think you should listen to my proposal first, little one." _

_"I am not interested." Power gathered in her palm, ready to be unleashed. She closed her eyes. _

_"There is no point in going back," the Goddess said quietly. "Your precious Akari isn't in the Tower of Agony yet." She paused to draw a deep breath before she continued in a painful voice, "After she died and you went off to fight Orochi as she wished, I had secretly cast on her a spell that trapped her soul in her body. The spell is not going to hold much longer, but she is still there." _

_Aoi's eyes sprang open in shock. Trembling, she placed her hand on the golden-haired girl's forehead and let her powers delve inside. A chill slithered down her back. Amaterasu had told the truth, she realized. The soul of her beloved still had not returned to the Tower of Kannazuki. _

_"Why did you do it?" she asked, still feeling shocked and confused as she held her sweetheart a little bit closer. She could think of no reason why the Goddess of the Sun would try to delay Akari's return to the Tower, where both of them had been reeled out from the Cycle of Death and Rebirth. _

_"Because I need her _here_," the older woman answered. "Without her, it is impossible to carry out the operation to free both of you from the vicious Project Kannazuki." _

_Slowly, for the first time since the High Immortal's arrival, Aoi turned her head and look. What she saw was the sight of the Goddess of the Sun, whose body was clad elegantly in a hagoromo the snowy brocade of which was covered by a transparent layer. Most surprisingly, she realized that the protective dome was not made from Amaterasu's powers, but that of the robe itself. _

_The Goddess noticed the question in her eyes. "Correct." The woman nodded. "This barrier, which is in fact a reversed Sealing Field, within which I stand is wrought from the power of this hagoromo. Thanks to it, no one on the Three Worlds can listen in on our conversation regardless of the extents of their powers. Furthermore, it blocks the Mirror of Life from recording your memories. Whatever happens in here shall not appear in the records of the Kiokkai." _

_"I see," Aoi said and started to wonder how the High Immortal managed to get her hands on such a powerful item. In any event, though, she appeared to mean what she said about freeing them from the vicious Project. She would not have gone through the trouble to set up this barrier otherwise. _

_"Now listen carefully to what I have to say, my child," the Goddess of the Sun whispered. "You and I shall make a wager against the Lord of Izumo himself." Her face grew grim. "Should we lose, I would be executed, and you two would be trapped in the cycle for time without end." _

_"I understand that." Aoi swallowed. _

_"However, if we win, you and Akari will be freed three thousand years later, when we make out last stand against all the Immortals who want to use you to achieve their own purposes." Her golden eyes flashed with determination. "Answer me now, child, do you wish to ally with me and fight against the rest of the world?" _

_"There is nothing I will not do to be able to live happily by Akaa-chan's side, Amaterasu-sama," she answered firmly. "I shall make that wager, no matter where it will lead us." _

_"Very well." A brilliant smile bloomed on the High Immortal's lips and she raised her right hand so that her palm faced the burning ceiling. What emerged a heartbeat later was a short and thin red ribbon that shone even more brightly than the flame raging in the chamber. _

_"This is Enishi, the Red Thread of Fate," announced the most beautiful woman in the Three Worlds. _

_Aoi's breath caught. "The Red Thread of Fate?! How did you lay your hands on the possession of the Lady of Reiha?!" _

_"That is immaterial at this point, little one." The Goddess gave a quiet chuckle. "What is important is that I have to give it to you before Akari's soul comes back to the Tower." She snapped her fingers. At the signal, Enishi's length began to grow as its two ends tied a knot around Akari's left little finger and Aoi's right. As soon as it was done, the Red Thread of Fate vanished. _

_"What is it supposed to do?" she asked wonderingly. _

_"It's too complicated to explain in a matter of minutes, my child." Amaterasu smiled and shook her head. "Wait patiently. Three millennia from now, you'll know." She fell to her knees next to Aoi and hugged her gently before she stood up again and retracted the barrier. The terrifying heat of the flame, kept out earlier by the protective dome, now rushed back inside and burned her cheeks. Burning logs fell down around them once more. _

_"Farewell, sweet children of the Lunar Shrine," was what the High Immortal said before she vanished in a flash of golden light. _

_ Knowing that there was nothing that she could do except trusting the Goddess, Aoi returned her full attention to the body of the one she loved and gave her one final kiss before the burning ceiling came down on their heads. _

As soon as the vision ended and her eyesight returned, she staggered backward and would have fallen had the little angel not helped her steady herself. Her breathing was uneven, her head was dizzy, and her face was drenched with sweat. The staggering amount of memories that flashed through her mind could not have lasted more than a few minutes, yet she still felt as though a year had already passed. The current was just too powerful.

"Chikane-chan," called the golden-haired girl, whose voice was tearful and on the verge of breaking. Even before she turned her head and saw large, round drops of water rolling down Himeko's cheeks, she had already known that the Priestess of the Sun was crying. The erratic pulses that traveled along the Red Thread of Fate connecting their fingers and the salty taste of tears in her mouth were the proof. "Chikane-chan," Himeko called again as she threw her arms around Chikane and held her tight. "I kept making you suffer, didn't I?"

"You... saw?" she said, surprised. "How?" Slowly, she hugged the girl she loved and ran her hands soothingly up and down her slender back.

"Thanks to Enishi, which connects your souls," explained the Goddess of the Sun, "she can see the powerful images that you do. That's why." She lifted her hand and placed it atop the little angel's head. "And it's time for me to remove the aftereffect of the Eyes of Heaven, I think." Nothing had happened that Chikane could see, but the beautiful girl in her arms gave a slight shake as though she had just been doused with cold water. "There, it's done." The High Immortal withdrew her hand.

"What do you mean, Amaterasu-sama?" Chikane asked, puzzled. Himeko did not seem to want to leave her embrace the way the girl held on to her body very tightly and continued to cry softly against her neck. Chikane never tried to push her sweetheart away.

"Don't you ever wonder Himeko never remembered what happened in her past life?" Amaterasu said, smiling. She paused and waited for a nod from Chikane before she continued, "It's at the end of the first holy war, when Kagetsuki pierced her heart, it slowly eroded her memories. The Eye of Heaven's power was so strong that its effect survived the passage of three thousand years. Every time her past-life memories resurfaced, they were swiftly destroyed." She paused again to give a frustrated shake of her magnificent head. "Even though they were aware of it, the Immortals of Heaven refused to heal it for her. They thought that it was all the better if she never remembered that she was the sacrifice, for they feared that if she did, she might be scared into doing something... drastic to save herself."

Chikane's lips thinned in anger. _Ignorant fools,_ she thought. _How dare they think of Himeko that way when it was she who forced me to drive the blade through her heart?_ Sighing, she tightened her arms a little bit more around the slender body of the little angel and placed a quick kiss upon the top of her head. Himeko, whose crying has been reduced down to a sob every few seconds or so, looked up at her with a pair of amethyst eyes filled with love and gratitude. She rose on her toes a little bit and her mouth opened slightly as though wanting to claim Chikane's lip. She would have, too, had the High Immortal not cleared her throat and reminded the girl that she was not in private. The golden-haired Priestess, apparently had forgotten about Amaterasu, gave a start and burrowed deeper into the curve of Chikane's arms in embarrassment.

"Little children, the moment for us to fight back has arrived." The Goddess's tone suddenly grew serious. Knowing that Amaterasu was about to tell them something important, Himeko let go of Chikane and placed her full attention on the golden-haired Immortal, who nodded at her in approval. She then raised both hands and summoned the Eyes of Heaven. When her golden gaze fell on them, her face hardened and her mouth twisted in disgust. "Tell me, what is the name of these weapons?"

"Kagetsuki and Akatsuya?" Chikane ventured.

"Not what I seek." Amaterasu smiled gently at her.

"Um... the True Keys of Awakening?" the little angel said. The smile on the Goddess's face grew almost broad enough to split her face in two.

"That's right, Himeko," she said. When she looked at the Eyes again, her grim mood returned. "My children, you should know that name is an outrageous lie. The True Keys to the Awakening of Ame no Murakumo are the blood and life force of a Priestess. Not the swords themselves."

Chikane's eyes widened. Before she could open her mouth and ask, though, her sweetheart was already one step ahead of her. "Then, what are they?"

"They are the locks on Ame no Murakumo's prison," the High Immortal declared. "It is they who bar your way to the Sword God."

Chikane drew a sharp breath. She had never imagined that the key to the puzzle was so close.

"Of course, if one wishes to open a locked door but doesn't have a key," Amaterasu gave each of them a meaningful glance, "all one needs to do is..."

"Break the lock!" Chikane and Himeko spoke at almost the same time. Smiling, she gave the little angel's hand an affectionate squeeze afterwards. The sweet, adorable smile that she received in return told her that it was much appreciated.

"Which isn't particularly easy," the older woman said. "Here's another riddle for you, sweet children of the Moon Goddess. The Eyes require blood and life force to function. They can destroy memories. They wield transcending powers. What do they remind you of?"

It only took a second for Chikane to understand what the Immortal was implying. Her breath caught. "The Mirror of Life!" The confusion surged in the Red Thread of Fate told her that Himeko was not following what they just talked about. Chikane then gave her another smile to say that she would explain everything later. The nod that was given back informed her that the golden-haired girl understood.

"That's right." Amaterasu nodded. "Inochi no Kagami is the true culprit behind all this. It was what powered the Eyes of Heaven, it was what locked the Sword God in, and it was what sustained the Core Sphere and its Thirteen Seals. After he had created Project Kannazuki three thousand years ago, Izanagi found himself confronting a great dilemma. He knew that the Mirror was required for the summoning, yet he could not give it to the Priestesses. It was too important and it would have killed you two as soon as you tried to use it. Finally, he found a solution.

"Izanagi, shrewd and devious, forged the Eyes of Heaven from a fragment of the Mirror and transferred into the former Ame no Murakumo's seal. Since the Eyes are practically the Mirror's spawns, they are linked. I said that breaking Kagetsuki and Akatsuya wasn't easy because Inochi no Kagami would supply them with power to prevent them from being destroyed. If you want to summon the Sword God, you will need to break the Eyes and the Mirror both."

"But that is impossible!" Chikane exclaimed. "The Mirror of Life is indestructible!"

"That is why I gave you Enishi in the first place." The Goddess gave her an indulgent smile. "My child, the Red Thread is a weapon that transforms emotions into power. The stronger the emotion, the more power it has. Little one, there is no emotion stronger than love, especially the love that you two share." Her smile grew affectionate. "During the last three thousand years, despite being sealed in the Kannazuki Tower, your mutual feelings have never faded. Instead, it steadily grew stronger within every second that passed. You two have in fact granted Enishi all the power it needs to combat the Mirror of Life."

Chikane turned to face her beloved and found the golden-haired girl gazing back at her with a touched expression that must have mirrored her own. Tangible joy, love, and gratitude entered her heart through the powerful bond that they shared. Quietly, their hands sought each other's. No word was needed.

Something at the edge of her vision suddenly turned her head. A terrible cold wrecked her body apart. She could see the approaching figure of a dark-haired man clad in a snowy flowing robe the stiff collar of which bore the Sun and Moon Crest on either side. His forehead was adorned with a crown. His belt hung a sheathed sword. His face was young and handsome, but at the same time it was so cold and hard that it would make ice seem cold and steel seem soft. He was the same man who had told them on their birthday that the Priestess of the Sun was going to be sacrificed to vanquish the Orochi. _Izanagi, the Lord of Izumo!_ she thought in utmost horror.

"Children, you must go now," urged the Goddess of the Sun, who apparently had noticed the Ruler of Heaven's arrival, as she put Kagetsuki and Akatsuya into their hands. "You know what to do."

A flash of golden light that emerged from the hand of the High Immortal swept them away.

* * *

"It's indeed unusual of you to grace the moon with your presence, father," said Yui the Goddess of the Sun, whose calm voice and composed facial expression contradicted the nervousness she was feeling inside. Her eyes were fixed on the Maker of the World, who stood just about a couple dozen feet away, and followed every of his movement so that she would be able to respond in time should the man try something... drastic. She would not put it past him to kill her right then and there without batting an eyelid. 

"Up there?" said the dark-haired man who looked young enough to be her brother as he gazed toward the starlit heavens. "Are you sure they are far enough from me?" he asked afterwards in an icy tone.

"I would believe so." She nodded. "They will break the Eyes of Heaven before you can reach them." Her words, pleasantly and calmly said, earned her a curious look from the man who was once the mightiest being in the Three Worlds.

"Interesting," he remarked contemptuously. "You actually believe that two fool girls aided by a flimsy ribbon can do more than scratch the surface of the weapon I forged." His lips twisted in a hateful sneer. "You are such a cruel person, Amaterasu, for giving them the false hope that they can escape the weaves of destiny."

"False hope," Yui repeated before she chuckled aloud in great amusement. Before long, she threw her head back and laughed until a few drops of tear rolled down her cheeks. Izanagi never did anything to her. The man simply watched her with narrowed eyes and thinned lips. That was his equivalent of another man roaring out in anger. It was an expression that she knew intimately well. Ever since the Goddess of the Moon swore an oath to become her sister, the Lord of Izumo had looked at her in the same way more often than not. It was open wonder why she was still alive. "I beg to differ, my lord," she said once she had her mirth under control.

"You know as well as I do that the Mirror of Life impossible to destroy." The Lord of Izumo smiled a smile that would freeze a mortal's blood.

"Under normal circumstances," she added. Inochi no Kagami was a magical entity that had unrestricted access to the life force of every mortal in Onogoro. As such, it had an endless supply of power, which it could use to strengthen itself and its spawns, the eyes of Heaven. Fighting against First Supreme was futile, for it was the same as fighting every living man and woman in the Human World. "This, however, is not one of those."

The smile that grew on her face as soon as she finished did nothing to improve the man's mood. Her confidence seemed to have shaken the Ruler of Heaven, for worries were creasing his forehead. She could almost hear the thoughts whirling in his sadistic mind. Right now, he was wondering whether she was making a bluff the way his dark eyes scrutinized her as though wanting to reach into her soul. The thoughtful look that came and dominated his face told her that he began to fear that perhaps she had truly found a way to defeat his most prized possession, the Mirror of Life. And of course, the only way to verify it would be summoning the Mirror itself.

Izanagi raised his hand. A few seconds later, shock rippled across his face when he realized that Inochi no Kagami never came to him as he wished. Yui laughed again.

"Speak!" the man hissed. "What have you done?"

"I evened out the playing field by sealing your precious Mirror," she answered. "It's not exactly fair for the whole world to gang up on two little girls."

"Step aside, now!" Izanagi growled. It would appear that he had decided to intervene and let his silly rules and regulations be hanged.

"Make me," she said and drew herself up defiantly against the Maker of the World. It was the first time she challenged his authority. It was probably her last.

"If you think that I will not kill you because you are my daughter, you are sorely mistaken," said the Lord of Izumo, the tip of whose right forefinger pointed straight at her. The winds came and howled around them as light blazed brilliantly around the fingertip.

"I was never under the impression that you saw me as once." The mirthless laughter that she released afterwards sent a dark shadow of fury stealing across the man's face. "I have no reason to obey you, my lord."

"Then you shall die with both of them," Izanagi decided. Then he brought down his hand in a decisive arc and erected between them a tidal wave of raging flame that was at least two stories in height and twice in width. It, without any hesitation, crashed down on her head.

Laughing quietly, Yui smoothed the front of her snowy hagoromo and watched a glorious dome of white light rose against the deadly attack.

* * *

"Impossible!" Izanagi the Lord of Izumo muttered in disbelief. He never expected that his spell would dissipate around Amaterasu's barrier the moment they touched and failed to inflict even an ounce of damage to the insolent girl who was now standing atop the burnt ground and laughing seemingly at the impunity of the attack. He did not understand. The amount of power he had woven into the flame wave should have been enough to shatter her defense and give her a few burns at the very least. 

It was only then did he notice the difference in the way his rebellious daughter dressed. For the last few decades or so, the Goddess of the Sun had always worn modern clothing whether she was in the Human or the Heavenly World. Now, her body was graced with a hagoromo robe that was radiating a very familiar sense of power. Narrowing his eyes, he examined the traditional outfit and realized a second later that it was coated with a transparent layer that must have been where that exceptionally strong barrier came from. Then he knew. The rose patterns on the robe, its familiar sense of power, and its ability to nullify his attack with contemptuous ease all pointed to the conclusion that the thing must have been made in the Underworld. He did not doubt that he was looking at a super concentrated and reversed Sealing Field wrought by the transparent layer, which in turn was made from the petals of the infamous Crystal Roses.

"Izanami just had to get in my way, did she not?" he muttered darkly. "Such a nuisance." He reached for the sword at his hip. There was no other way to deal with her when she was impervious to any spell he might cast.

"You are not going to draw your sword against an unarmed girl, are you?" Amaterasu exclaimed, sounding scandalized. The calm light that shone in her golden eyes said that she did not mean a word she spoke.

"All the easier for me," he said and stepped forward with his right hand on his sword hilt. "I will say it one last time, Amaterasu. If you stand aside now, I will spare your life." Before he could take a second step, however, he sensed the presence of an enormous amount of power rushing toward him from above his head. Hastily, he lifted his hand and wove a barrier spinning around his body. The pillar of liquid fire that slammed against the protective layer was so strong that its heat managed to seep inside, reached him, and made him very glad that he had reacted on time. Had he not, he probably would have been burned to ashes.

"You will not lay a hand on nee-sama, Izanagi," Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne said in her usual icy voice as she landed like a leaf next to the Goddess of the Sun, who seemed to have taken her assistance fore granted. A few seconds later, Saotome Makoto descended from the air and planted himself firmly on the other side of the rebellious Immortal. Face grim and touched with fear, the girl bared her puny Sword at him as if she thought that she could hurt him with it.

He ground his teeth together and thought, _Damn it, when did they arrive?!_ Apparently, he had been too engrossed in watching the events unfold in front of his eyes that he failed to notice that they were not the only people present on this deserted moon.

"You knew I was here from the beginning," said the Seraphim Blade, whose gray eyes were glancing sideways at the golden-haired Goddess.

"I did." Amaterasu nodded.

"The explanation you gave the Priestesses was actually meant for me, was it not?"

"Indeed." Another nod.

"You should just stop trying to manipulate people, nee-sama." Rinne shook her head in what seemed to be exasperation. "It is very unbecoming on you."

"And so the pot called the kettle black." The Goddess of the Sun laughed aloud. Izanagi decided that if he had a chance, he would sew her lips together so that she could not make those infuriating sounds anymore.

"Well then," the platinum-haired woman sighed, "it would appear that you require my assistance." She sank to her knees and placed her right hand on her heart. "Nee-sama, my powers are yours to command." Her eight wings, once folded behind her back, wrapped completely around her body and shone their luminescence erased the stars and the Earth riding on high. Mouth tightening, Izanagi stepped backward and readied himself for any attack that might came his way.

When the light faded, the platinum-haired Sinner was nowhere in sight. What was left in her place was a transparent crystal sword whose hilt and blade were separated by a cluster of eight gemstones each bearing an angelic wing. Izanagi's fists clenched at his sides. It was the true form of Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne, the Seraphim Blade. It was the very sword which he had commissioned Izanami to design and forge more than three thousand years ago. He should not have.

"I offer no disrespect, child," Amaterasu told Saotome Makoto calmly, "but you should not be here."

Knowing that if she remained, she would die, the Orochi Eighth Head nodded, gave the Sun Goddess a respectful bow, and pulled herself into the heavens and out of harm's way.

"Now, my lord," the golden-haired girl continued, "shall we begin?" She wrapped her hand around the hilt of Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne and channeled her powers into the sword. The crystal blade, once as clear as the water of a mountain stream, grew pitch back in the blink of an eye.

A Dimensional Portal opened right beneath his feet. Knowing that she could cut him into pieces with the silvery surface, Izanagi invoked his powers and soared into the starlit heavens. Before he could go very far, however, he heard Amaterasu's voice whispering coldly in his ears, _"You are not allowed near the children, my lord, so come back here, now!"_ The Seraphim Blade in her hand changed into the brownish color of the earth.

He never had time to react before his body plunged toward the ground like a rock. It was the power of gravity, he realized, which the weakling of an Orochi Korona was never capable of wielding. When he managed to snatch back control, it was already too late, for the only thing that he could do was forcing himself to land painfully on one knee on the ground instead of having his front slammed against it. Grimacing, he looked up and swallowed at the sight of the Goddess of the Sun, in whose hand Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne was blazing with a white light as bright as a torch.

"Consider this payback for what you have done to Yue and her children, my lord," she announced in a cold and collected voice that would have shamed a queen on her throne before she swung the sword at his left side.

Having no other choice, he raised his left hand, which was wreathed in protective light, and tried to parry the sword stroke. He had thought that he would be able to catch it unharmed. He was wrong. At the moment of contact, a force strong enough to level mountains leapt at him, hurled him off his feet at the speed of a bullet. He ended up crashing into the ruins of the Lunar Shrine. Lying amidst burnt wood and darkened stones, he almost groaned out loud in heart-searing pain. Every bone in his left hand had been shattered and every nerve severed, he knew. There was no way he could use it again at least until the fight had concluded.

"How are you feeling, my lord?" asked the Goddess of the Sun, who was standing several feet away.

"Like being stung by a mosquito," he answered and rose to his feet.

"You have grown feeble," the golden-haired Immortal commented. "As far as I can see, you only possess half the power you did before you sealed Akira beneath this very ground." Her golden eyes regarded him with disgust. "But not that you can help it, I understand. The Mirror of Life had never been any gentler with you than it was to my little brother."

Izanagi simply narrowed his eyes at the girl and said nothing. What she said was right, in any case. Ame no Murakumo was so strong that sealing him was beyond Izanagi's power unaided. Without any other alternative, he had had to resort to Inochi no Kagami, which, according to the restriction he and Izanami had placed on it since its creation, required an insane amount of life force in exchange for its transcending power. Being very nearly crippled by the Mirror, Izanagi had lost half of his power as soon as he was done trapping the Sword God beneath the surface of the moon. If he had not, there would be no way in hell that the Goddess of the Sun could touch a strand of hair on his head, much less hurting him.

"You should be worried," the girl taunted him. "If you cannot kill me with your current power, how are you going to manage when Akira is free? He is much stronger than I am, you would remember."

"You will change your mind the moment Towa no Nagare drinks your blood, girl," he said dryly and drew his katana out of its scabbard. His powers then raced to his hand and became doubled as soon as they reached the sword that he named the Flow of Eternity. Unlike other magical weapons, Towa no Nagare was incapable of delivering powerful attacks. The only thing that it could do was compensate for the power that Izanagi had lost after the fight he had with Ame no Murakumo.

"I guess this is it, my lord," Amaterasu said. The golden-haired girl was staring at Towa no Nagare, which was blazing like the midday sun in his hand, with a dead serious expression on her face. In the beginning, she only used one hand to wield Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne. Now, she put both hands on its hilt. "One of us has to die here today."

"Indeed," he replied, his right hand erecting the katana in front of his chest.

"Then so be it," was what she said before she drove every ounce of power she possessed into the Seraphim Blade and had it glow with a light rivaling that of the Flow of Eternity.

They began to match swords. On one hand, Izanagi believed that there was no point in hurling spells at the girl, for the petal-coated hagoromo of hers would just nullify them all. On the other, he knew that the Sun Goddess would not use her magical abilities against him either, for he would never allow her enough time to cast any spell. Physical battle was the only option they could take.

Sword met sword in showers of sparks. Crystal clashed against steel and produced shockwaves that rocked their bodies. This fight was heavens and earth different from the one he had with Ame no Murakumo, for in that fight, all that they were trying to do was restraining each other. In this one, he and Amaterasu only wished to obliterate one another so that they could achieve their own goals. One mistake could cost Izanagi his life. One second of distraction could blow his rebellious daughter to dust.

As they continued to duel, they left more and more terrible scars upon the surface of the moon. Their feet left deep imprints upon its rocky ground. The forces they employed to wield their weapons created long and steep fuming cracks that bore into its crust. The more they fought, the more Izanagi was afraid that they were going to split the moon apart. His fear vanished a few moments later with the appearance of relieving but equally disturbing signs.

Amaterasu was being weakened. Her sword strokes were no longer so powerful he had to parry them with every ounce of strength he had. Nor were they as fast as they had been in the beginning. As a result, he began to overwhelm her. Shortly after that, he succeeded in forcing her into total defense and rendered her unable to do anything except blocking his blows or retreating from his attacks. Even though he was clearly winning, Izanagi was furious. It was a good thing that the golden-haired Immortal was about to win... but it was not exactly comforting being aware of what was devouring her strength and vitality. _I have to hurry!_ he thought in distress.

His chance came when sudden agony contorted the girl's face and delayed a swing of her sword. Immediately he poured all his strength into Towa no Nagare and blasted it Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne away from the Sun Goddess's hand. Amaterasu, apparently in too much pain to even hold herself erect, sank to her knees and clutched at her heart while gasping desperately for air. Infuriated, Izanagi raised the Flow of Eternity high and prepared to bring it down on his daughter's head. It was time to end this ridiculous struggle once and for all, he told himself.

"Move and I will kill you, my lord," Tsukiyomi's voice said coldly from behind him at the same time that a cold hand was placed on the nape of his neck. His heart dove into his stomach as his eyebrows rose in horror. Kneeling in front of him, Amaterasu seemed to be equally surprised.

"When... did you arrive?" was all he could manage. He never twitched a muscle, though, for he knew that the Goddess of the Moon would not hesitate in killing him if she had to. The fact that she no longer addressed him as "father" was the proof.

"The same time you did," the unseen silver-haired girl said, her voice and hand growing no warmer. If anything, she sounded much more threatening the way power was surging like the heaviest storm inside her body. "Someone told me that you intended to end the pact between us, so I followed you here to make sure that you do not. I would have stopped you from the beginning, too, but I never had a chance."

"I see," he muttered noncommittally and wondered who had the nerve to tell the Goddess of the Moon such a thing.

"Leave now, Yui," Tsukiyomi said to the Goddess of the Sun, who had managed to get back on her feet. "I will handle everything." He could feel her silver gaze on his back. He could sense the murderous intention raging in her soul. The girl was not going to be gentle with him for not upholding his end of the bargain, he was sure.

"There is no need, Yue," Amaterasu said. Her eyes were shining with unasked questions. "Everything's over. Your daughters are freed."

Izanagi's internal organs turned to ice the instant he heard thunderous noises resounding overhead.

* * *

Standing a few hundred feet above the surface of the moon with her body less than an inch away from that of her sweetheart, Kurusugawa Himeko thought that her blood was turning into wine. The blue-haired girl's eyes were sapphire under the summer sun. Her flushed cheeks seemed so inviting Himeko only wished to lean over and placed on each of them a kiss. Her heart was pounding audibly inside her chest, which was rising and falling in an erratic and mesmerizing rhythm. Her love, as tangible as her hands, which were clasping Himeko's very tightly as though she was afraid that Himeko would leave her, surged endlessly through their unbreakable bond and embraced Himeko's existence. There had been times when she wondered what it felt to be loved by the girl whom she cherished with all her heart. She never once imagined that it could be this wonderful. 

Floating above them were the True Keys of Awakening, the blades of which were bound by Enishi, the Red Thread of Fate. The red ribbon, empowered by her and Chikane-chan's emotions, was growing stronger after every minute. Under Enishi's tightening grip, the Eyes of Heaven rattled madly while more and more cracks appeared all over their blades, hand guards, and hilts. Bit by bit, metal dust fell from their edges and slowly turned them into something that bore a striking resemblance to a chainsaw but much more hideous. Himeko doubted that Kagetsuki and Akatsuya could hold out against Enishi for much longer. They were already at their limit.

Her cheeks burned furiously as she felt the princess's gentle arms slipped around her waist and pulled her closer. A heartbeat afterwards, she found her sweetheart's lips pressing against her own in a kiss that set her entire body on fire. Celestial power exploded in the erupted at her little finger and followed Enishi's length all the way to the Eyes of Heaven. The swords, after receiving their death strokes, shattered into a million pieces.

* * *

Standing atop the platform that floated upon the Kiokkai, Susanou no Mikoto could only shed his tears in silence as the Tower of Kannazuki began to fall apart. When the structure's platinum floatation ring fell into the Memories Sea along with the crystal debris, it raised a huge wave that crashed upon the platform and soaked his clothes to the very last stitch. He had seen the wave coming. He knew that he would get wet if he refused to move. Yet he never bothered to. He did not even cared to wipe the sparkling liquid that was dripping from his hair and face. 

The Tower of Agony was being destroyed, which meant that its engine, the Mirror of Life, had been shattered by the Red Thread of Fate's power. He never liked Inochi no Kagami to begin with... but with it gone, there was no longer any hope of saving his beloved sister from her impending death.

"Nee-san," he cried silently. He had cried once three thousand years ago, when his father took away his little brother and refused to give him back. He had never thought that he would ever again.


	14. To the Sanctum Core

_**EPISODE THIRTEEN: TO THE SANCTUM CORE.**_

* * *

Ame no Murakumo the Sword God was being frozen in a dreamless sleep when suddenly his consciousness returned to him like the breaking dawn. His eyes fluttering open, he found himself sitting in an armchair in the familiar chamber that was his prison since he could not remember when. Everything was the same as far as he could see. The furniture, despite being destroyed numerous times by his powers, was still there, seemingly undamaged. The vast golden lily field beyond the shoji door to this suffocating chamber still lay beneath a sun that generated no warmth the way it was supposed to. 

Yet, something in him had changed. Unlike the previous times, where he woke up in a violent start and where he could not move a muscle, he now felt strength in his body and not a trace of the bindings that had been imposed on his arms and legs. Gingerly, he placed his hands on the arms of the chair and lifted himself up. It took him several tries before he could get back on his feet without falling back onto the chair a second later. He knew that this was happening because he had not used his body for only Heaven knew how long. Soon, his strength would fully return, he was sure.

To his astonishment, a vertical shaft of silver light appeared right in front of him and proceeded to widen into the oval-shaped silvery surface of a Dimensional Portal. His whole self bursting with joy and excitement, he strode for what and passed through the door that would lead to his freedom. _Rinne,_ was the only name that drifted across his mind when silver light enveloped him whole.

* * *

With her right hand clutching her left upper arm, Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne stood exhausted on the rocky ground of the moon and quietly cursed at the fearsome power of the Towa no Nagare sword. The Flow of Eternity surely deserved its grand name, for it never snapped into two the way other weapons would as soon as they came into contact with her true form. On contrary, it managed to send so many shockwaves into her that her own body now felt like a grape in the winepress. Truth be told, she had never expected that Izanagi the weapon ignorant could forge something that gave this much trouble to a weapon designed by the Lady of Reiha herself. 

She shook her head and put the Flow of Eternity out of her mind. It was no longer important, for the Lord of Izumo had now placed under control of the woman whom he spent his days and nights mooning over. Tsukiyomi, who face was cold enough to make ice seem hot, had her right hand placed firmly on the man's neck and her full attention on the smallest movement of his body. Rinne suspected that if Izanagi tried to do something drastic, the Goddess of the Moon would not hesitate in blasting him apart. When it came to the safety of her sweetheart the Goddess of the Sun, there were very few things that the silver-haired woman would _not_ do. Rinne snickered. It was high time the bastard Ruler of Heaven realized that when he played with fire, he would get burned sooner or later. "And Tsukiyomi's anger is worse than any fire, bastard," she murmured to herself.

All thoughts took flight when she saw a heavy rain of sparkling metal dust falling upon the surface of the moon. Even without looking up, she knew that the Eyes of Heaven had been obliterated by the Red Thread of Fate and the full force of the Priestesses' feelings toward each other. Her heart began to pound. Now, with the two wretched swords out of the way, there was nothing left to sustain the Core Sphere and the Thirteen Seals that enveloped Akira's dimensional prison. Sure enough, she could see them unraveling rapidly beneath the moon's crust. As soon as they were completely dissolved into the fabrics of space, a horizontally woven Dimensional Portal emerged right upon the rocky ground. From it a pair of humongous steel gates slowly surfaced. Once they had emerged completely, they swung open and revealed a screen of blazing white light.

_"Akira!"_ she could not help but shout at the top of her lungs for the man she loved.

Nothing happened at first... but after a few minutes, a shadow marred the surface of the screen of light. Slowly, but steadily, the dark patched, shaped like a human, began to gain solid form as it emerged. In less than the time one needed to drink a cup of tea, Ame no Murakumo the Sword God stood on the moon with a bewildered expression on his haggard face. In his simple yukata, the man who was only one step below Izanagi in term of power appeared someone who had been starved for days.

"Akira!" she called again. Tears streaked down her cheeks. It had been at least three thousand years since she last cried in joy like this. All the tears she had shed ever since all came from the bitterness and the heartbreaking pain that were only known to the walls of the Orochi's Audience Chamber.

The Sword God turned in her direction. As soon as his gaze fell upon her, his mouth blossomed into a wholehearted smile and his platinum eyes shone in unspeakable joy and love. The very sight turned her world upside down. She felt so light-headed she could barely stand on her feet. She felt so overwhelmed by the swelling emotions in her heart that she thought she was going to burst.

"Rinne," the man she loved called in an awkward voice – she doubted he had used even once during all the time he was imprisoned beneath the surface of the moon – and walked stiffly toward her. Gradually, his pace picked up as he started to run. He only managed it for a few feet before he fell flat on his stomach upon the rough and devastated ground of what was once the most beautiful place in the entire Creation Realm.

Startled by Akira's fall, Rinne hurried toward him so that she could help him up. The moment she reached him was also the one in which she realized that she was about to make a terrible mistake. Horrified, she leapt backward repeatedly until she landed upon the exact same spot where she started and hoped that she had not managed to do harm to the man she loved. As far as she was concerned, what she just did was pointless. The damage had already been done. The Sword God had already clutched at his head with both hands and begun to scream at the top of his lungs while agony contorted his handsome features.

Unbearable pain rippled across Rinne's entire self and destroyed her balance. She sank to her knees and wept as hard as she could. Eventually, the man she loved stopped screaming. Trembling, he slowly rose to his feet. Forehead drenched with sweat, he gazed at her with a shocked and pained face. "What... has happened to you, Rinne?!" he asked afterwards, his voice mirroring his expression. He had already realized that she was no longer the woman he knew and loved. He had already noticed the corruption swirling in her soul and tainting her once pure existence. It had been the darkness she had spent the last three thousand years drawing from the hearts of the mortals that hurt him, she knew. It was inevitable.

"I am sorry, Akira," she sobbed. "I am sorry." She turned and hurried away. In the beginning, she had meant to sacrifice herself along with the souls of the Orochi to free Akira. Never once did she imagine that it was possible for them both to be alive at the same time. Never once did she think of what she needed to say to the Sword God.

"Please, come back, Rinne!" he called desperately after her. The more he did, the harder she ran. To her dismay, the man never intended to let her do as she wished. Not long after he stopped calling, she felt an irresistible force being exerted upon her body and pulling her back. By the time she realized that unlike his physical strength, his celestial powers were intact, she had already found herself engulfed in the Sword God's embrace. Horror struck her as soon as she saw that smoke was billowing wherever they touched. The darkness she had accumulated was practically burning Akira inside out. If he kept on holding her, he was going to perish.

"Let go of me!" she screamed and struggled to set herself free. She never succeeded. Her powers had already been exhausted after the deadly fight with the Flow of Eternity. There was simply no way she could escape from someone who had sealed up all her movements by instilling his energies into her soul. "Let go, please, I beg you!" she sobbed. "If you do not... you will die!"

The Sword God did not say anything in reply. Instead, he delved into her soul and read her memories. Unable to stop someone much stronger than her, she could only lie in his arms and weep while he learned all the crimes that she had committed during the last three thousand years. Meanwhile, the smoke continued to rise and quietly dissipated into the cold air of the moon. Within every minute that passed, Akira's condition worsened. The longer he held her in his arm, the paler his complexion grew and the more his lips tightened in evident pain. After several minutes, his breathing became ragged, heavy, and irregular while his whole body shook from the strain it had to put up with. His teeth were biting on his underlip so hard in order to stop any sound from escaping that blood eventually trickled out of the corner of his mouth. Seeing him suffering because of her so, Rinne only wished that Towa no Nagare had torn her apart.

"All the sins you have committed were all for my sake," he murmured in a week voice when he was done with accessing her memories. "I do not intend to leave them be, Rinne." Powers exploded in him and flooded into her body like a tidal wave. Rinne's breath caught as she suddenly understood what he was trying to do. Since she was the embodiment of the darkness of the human soul and Akira the personification of the sacred light, their powers could not mix and would end up nullifying each other. The Sword God, in fact, was cleansing her soul with his life as the cost.

_"No!"_ she shouted. _"Stop, Akira!"_

"Do not waste your breath, Rinne," said the man she loved, whose voice was growing weaker after every word. "I am not changing my mind." He gave her a shaky smile as though wanting to comfort her. All he did was making her panic even more.

"Why are you doing this?!" she cried. "Everything I did, I did to save you! Why are you throwing your life away?!"

"A life where I cannot stay close to you is not a life worth living," Akira answered and smiled sadly at her. "Death is much more pleasant a choice." The smoke had grown so dense that it now obscured the majority of the Sword God's figure. The only part of him that she could see was his face, which had become much more haggard then when he first came out of his dimensional prison. It was as though life force was being drained out of him at a staggering rate.

Knowing that nothing she could do – it was not as though she could do anything while being sealed within his arms – would change her lover's mind, Rinne invoked every ounce of powers that were left in her and triggered an internal explosion that destroyed all her organs except her brain and her heart. Blood spilled from the orifices on her face at the same time that a painful cry was strummed off her vocal cords. In less than a minute, she would die. She only hoped that she lost her life before Akira lost his.

"No!" the Sword God cried. "What in Heaven's name...!"

"Stop... what you are... doing," she breathed. "There is no point... cleansing a corpse." Her vision darkened. Her body grew cold. Her skin became so numb that she could barely feel Akira's touch.

"You are still the stubborn girl I know," he let out an agonized and bitter laugh. "But you are too late." He sighed. "Well then, I guess it is not that bad a thing to leave this world with you." His arms tightened around her body. "Let us hope... that we can meet again, Rinne."

The last thing that she saw before she drew her last breath was the sight of Akira's body fading into the dense screen of smoke.

* * *

Stunned, Yui the Goddess of the Sun could only watch as the smoke gradually faded into the night air and left behind nothing except a crystal sword that stood lonely with its blade buried half way into the ground. Then all of a sudden, the true form of Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne crumbled into a wave of sparkling dust, which was eventually scattered to the furthest corners of the lonely moon by the cruel winds of October, and six small orbs of light that were undoubtedly the souls of the Orochi that she herself had slain earlier. Those orbs, after a while of staying motionless above the ground, rushed upward and joined the eternal current that was the Cycle of Death and Rebirth. 

It was not an outcome she could foresee.

In the beginning, she had expected that when Akira and Rinne were reunited, they would help her combat the Ruler of Heaven and bring the man to his knees. She never once thought that Yue, someone who had always done her best to prove her hostility toward her, would be the person who saved her hide and forced Izanagi into submission. Neither did she envision a future where the Sword God and his lover perished right after the former escaped from his dimensional prison.

Although her heart ached so terribly for the loss of her little brother it took all her remaining strength to rein in her tears, she knew that she had no time for mourning. Quickly, she spun on her heel and found herself facing the Lord of Izumo afterwards. The man, still under a shock from seeing how the two greatest of his worries just killed themselves, simply stared at where Akira and Rinne once were, appearing to have forgotten that the hand of the Goddess of the Moon was still on the nape of his neck. Yue, on the other hand, did not seem to register much of the terrible event that just transpired the way she fixed her silver eyes upon the Ruler of Heaven. Not that Yui ever expected the girl to, of course. She had never been close to the Seraphim Blade or the Sword God.

Behind Izanagi and his surrogate daughter were Himemiya Chikane and Kurusugawa Himeko, whose hands were locked firmly together and whose faces were painted with utmost confusion. Standing high in the air was Saotome Makoto the Eighth Head, who seemed to have a much better understanding of the situation than the other two girls did.

Yui flung the right sleeve of her hagoromo robe toward the girl in the dark cape. She never had a chance to do anything before a Dimensional Portal, which opened abruptly without any warning beneath her feet, pulled her inside and vanished. Now that Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne was gone, the Twilight Blade in Makoto's hand was just a useless piece of black metal. She didn't have any means to create a dimensional passage that could get her back to Onogoro.

"Keep an eye on him for a little more, Yue-chan," Yui told the Goddess of the Moon afterwards. In response, the silver-haired girl gave a grave nod of her head and continued to observe the Ruler of Heaven, who in turn was studying Yui with a mixed expression on his face. Were she to guess, she would say that the man was enraged by her actions as well as curious as to what she was going to do next.

_You have no idea, my lord,_ she thought as she walked past them and approached the Priestesses of the Sun and Moon.

"Put these on, children," she said and produced from inside her snowy hagoromo two gold bracelets identical to her own, upon which the shape of the Crystal Rose and elegant vines and leaves were inlaid. Although the two girls looked at her curiously at first, they still complied. Once they finished, they looked at her once again with unasked questions shining in their beautiful sapphire and amethyst eyes. She winked at them to tell them that they would get an explanation soon enough, just not now. The nods they gave in return told her that they understood. Pleased, Yui walked back to where the Goddess of the Sun and the Ruler of Heaven was.

"I shall take over now," she said to the silver-haired girl at the same time that she placed her palm against the man's back. With her vacant hand she flung at an empty spot on the ground nearby and wove a Dimensional Portal that would lead them back to the Holy City. "Go to your children."

Yue stared at her for a few seconds before she gave her a grateful nod and hurried toward the Priestesses of the Sun and Moon.

"For someone near death, you sure do a great deal of unnecessary things," the male Maker of the World commented in a low voice once his adopted daughter had gotten out of earshot. His eyes, dark and hateful, seemed to want to bore into Yui's head to figure out what she was scheming.

She gave him a frosty smile and said, "For someone being held hostage, you sure said a great deal, my lord." His visage hardened in anger. "Now move." She tossed her head toward the silvery surface of the dimensional passageway. Face steely, mouth tightened, hands clenched at his side, the Lord of Izumo did as she instructed and headed straight toward the Portal.

* * *

"My daughters," Yue the Goddess of the Moon said in a shaky voice as she threw her arms around the Priestesses of the Sun and Moon and pulled them into a tight hug. Overwhelmed by happiness, she called their names over and over again while tears fell silently down her cheeks. During the last three thousand years, she had spent her nights weeping for her lost love as much as she did for her beloved children, who were sacrificed for no other purpose than Izanagi's punishment for Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne the Seraphim Blade. Yui she could do nothing about – she doubted that she ever could – but now that her children had been returned to her safe and sound, she could not be happier. 

"Tsukiyomi-sama," little Chikane called in a voice that was just as shaky. When Yue pulled away from the two girls, the blue-haired one was crying also. "We have made you suffer so, Tsukiyomi-sama." She wept openly against Yue's bosom as her arms tightened around her back. Touched by the sincerity in the Moon Priestess's tearful words, Yue held her a little bit closer while one of her hands combed through the luxuriant tresses of her daughter's hair.

"Tsukiyomi...sama?" she heard the voice of little Himeko asked wonderingly. "The... Goddess of the Moon?"

Letting go of the Moon Priestess, Yue turned to the golden-haired girl and gave her a little smile. "Yes, I am," she said afterwards. "I know you do not remember... but you once lived under my roof, dear child of mine." Her hands rose to touch the Sun Priestess's cheeks. "Soon, I will find a way to give you back your past-life memories. Once I do, you will remember who I am... and our family can be whole again, little one." She hugged Himeko tightly and wept openly atop her shoulder. Although the girl was very still at first, probably surprised by what Yue had just revealed to her, she put her hands on Yue's back and stroked it gently as though she wanted to sooth her. The child only made Yue cry harder.

"I'm sorry to intrude," Yui's voice said suddenly, "but our time is running short. We must hurry, Yue-chan."

Looking up, Yue saw the other woman and her blood father the bastard Lord of Izumo standing in front of a Dimensional Portal. The former appeared quite regretful while the latter watched her over his shoulder with a facial expression that spoke of volumes of hatred and anger. If they could switch place, Yue would not doubt for one second that the Ruler of Heaven would not hesitate in ripping the heart of the Sun Goddess out of her chest.

"Where... are you taking us?" she inquired in an apprehensive tone as she pulled her daughters closer to her sides.

"The Sanctum Core," the golden-haired Immortal answered without taking her eyes off the Lord of Izumo. As if she could sense the fear that suddenly welled up in Yue's soul, the woman added in a very gentle voice, "Don't be afraid. I've risked everything I ever owned to save your daughters. I'm not going to do anything harmful to them. Please, trust me."

After giving her children a glance each and seeing that they were begging her to do what Yui wished with their eyes, she nodded. "I trust you, Yui," she said. It was probably the nicest thing that she ever said to the Goddess of the Sun during the last three thousand years.

"Thank you." Somehow, even though she could not see the golden-haired Immortal's face, she knew that the other woman was smiling. "Now, please go first, my lord," Yui told the Ruler of Heaven before she pushed the man into the silvery surface where he immediately vanished without leaving a trace. Yue's heart immediately leapt into her throat in shock and panic.

_"Why did you do that?!"_ she shouted incredulously. _"You know how hard it was to place him under control and now you just let him go?! Are you mad?!" _Kurusugawa Himeko and Himemiya Chikane apparently shared the same sentiment, for they were looking at the golden-haired Immortal with eyes as large as teacups on their faces.

"Not yet, Yue-chan," the Goddess of the Sun replied and chuckled as though at a fine joke. "Izanagi can't do anything even if he's free, I assure you. There's a little surprise waiting for him on the other side of this portal. I don't think he'll find it very pleasant, mind you." She gestured cheerfully at the whirling surface. "Now, hurry, or we'll miss the show." As if to demonstrate that it was not dangerous at all, the woman walked into the Dimensional Portal as disappeared as quickly as the Ruler of Heaven had.

"Amaterasu-sama does not do anything without thinking of the consequences first, Tsukiyomi-sama," little Chikane said quietly after a while. "It's okay to believe in her." She tugged at Yue's sleeve.

Sighing, she decided that the Priestess of the Moon was right. Although Yue had always viewed the Sun Goddess as a childish and thoughtless Immortal, the events that had transpired today undoubtedly proved that the woman was not. Yue still gave the blue-haired child a playful look in the end, though. "You are just saying that because she saved your lover, are you not?" she joked and laughed softly when she saw spots of color blooming fiercely on Chikane's face. Little Himeko did not fare any better the way she dropped her gaze and took up an intense studying of the ground with a complexion that could shame a sunset.

"Well then, if you trust her so, we must not keep her waiting." She strode forward and entered the Dimensional Portal with her entire self bursting with power and ready for ambush. No matter what Yui and little Chikane said, there was nothing wrong with being careful. If anything happened, she still would have time to send the children back and close down the Portal before they were harmed.

What she saw at the other side of the silvery surface shocked her so greatly she was at a loss for words.

Izanagi the Lord of Izumo was on all four on the ground, face aghast and bloodless, limbs trembling violently it was a wonder how they managed to support him, and body without a scrap of power. Towering over him was the Goddess of the Sun, who was surveying the heavens with an extremely satisfied affection on her face. As Yue looked upward to see what could have pleased the golden-haired High Immortal, her jaw fell and could not be pulled back up.

Usually, there was nothing in the heights of the heavens except the clouds that had been surfing them since time immemorial. Now, she could see the vast city of Reiha hanging upside down at the furthest reach of the blood-red twilight sky. Directly beneath them were five huge and oddly looking structures, each of which appeared to be carved out of a different type of precious stone, with their middles linked together by an energy ring. From the very same ring the transparent petals of the Crystal Roses were being generated at a neck-breaking rate, fluttering down like snow in the cool air, and formed a thick bed upon the empty boulevards of Heaven.

Her head whipped to the Lord of Heaven, who was now struggling to get back on his feet. She had finally understood why Izanagi was behaving as though he had lost all of his powers. _He did!_ she thought. _They have imposed a Sealing Field on the Holy City!_ Her gaze then traveled to the Goddess of the Sun, who gazed back at her with a playful gleam in her beautiful golden eyes. _It was her doing!_

"This... is not how I remember Heaven," muttered Himemiya Chikane, who was surveying the surrounding with utmost shock painted across her face. Standing next to her and holding her hand very tightly was the Priestess of the Sun Kurusugawa Himeko who did not appear to register that there was something very wrong with the city of the Immortals. For all Yue knew, the girl might have thought that the upside down city in the sky and the falling rose petals were things that happened to Izumo on a daily basis.

Then it struck her.

"Are you feeling alright, children?" she asked the two girls. The nods that she received in return shocked her so greatly she staggered backward. This was not supposed to be happening. Since neither were the Priestesses Reiha-born nor did they spend at least one year in the Heart of the Underworld, they should have been affected by the Crystal Roses. Yet they did not. While the Lord of Heaven, much stronger than them, lost all of his powers, they retained theirs. It made no sense at all.

"They have this, that's why, Yue-chan," the Goddess of the Sun sand and held up her right arm, the wrist of which were graced with a rose bracelet identical to those that she had given the children before they came here.

"You received them from my Mother, did you not?" she asked the golden-haired Immortal quietly. "What are you two trying to do?" It was only then did she notice that something was very wrong with the woman to whom she never disclosed her love. Her complexion, usually healthy, had taken on a sickly shade of white. Her golden eyes were tired. Her breathing was a little irregular. Worst of all, her powers were gradually fading like tide ebbing from the beach.

"You will know soon," Yui replied teasingly before she placed her attention on the Lord of Izumo, who was invoking every scrap of strength he possessed to stay on his feet. The man was indeed formidable, for anyone else in his place would be trembling on the ground at this moment and would not be to stand up until at least a few hours later. "Shall we go, my lord?" she told Izanagi in a cold and flat voice.

"Very well," he answered with tight lips and limped toward the Heavenly Palace, which lay just a few steps away, in such a painful manner that Yue was under the impression that the man was walking on a needle bed.

The golden-haired Immortal would have started walking, too, had Yue not placed a hand on her wrist and stopped her in her track. "Wait a minute, Yui," she said.

"Yes?" The most beautiful woman in the Three Worlds looked at her, taken aback. She did have a good reason to. After all, Yue had never touched the Sun Goddess willingly during the last three thousand years. And certainly, neither did she call out to her in a voice that was full of heartfelt concerns like she just did.

"Are you... okay?" she hesitated.

"Nothing you need to worry about, Yue-chan," the other woman replied quietly before she smiled at her in a very sad manner and gently shook her hand off. Then she followed her biological into the Heavenly Palace.

Puzzled and worried, she took her daughters' hands and led them into the heart of the Holy City. Their destination, according to the Goddess of the Sun, was the Sanctum Core itself. She could only wonder what was awaiting them in a place where the bravest Immortals would fear to tread.

Her unasked question was answered when the great mahogany doors of the Grand Hall of the Sky, another name for the chamber in which the Celestial Assembly reigned supreme, swung open and revealed its vast interior and its occupants, five hundred Gods and Goddesses who managed the affairs of the Holy City. On the lowest row, where the Three Arbiters always sat, there was a fourth person present. That person was none other than Yue's mother, Izanami-sama, one of the Makers of the World.

* * *

Izanami the Regent of the World, whose chin was propped on her interlaced hands, smiled softly as soon as the doors to the Sanctum Core opened and admitted the Lord of Izumo, Amaterasu, Tsukiyomi, and the Priestesses of the Sun and Moon, all of whom were wearing different expressions on their faces. Izanagi's were painted with fury while his eyes could have done for the sharpest swords. The Goddess of the Moon was looking at her in surprise. Her childhood friend, whose face was unnaturally pale in the light descending from the myriad orbs of light hanging beneath the vaulted ceiling, apparently shared Izanami's good mood the way the golden-haired Immortal gave her a smile and a respectful incline of her head. The Priestess of the Moon was eyeing her in shock – she believed that the child knew who she was – while her sweetheart Kurusugawa Himeko hung tightly onto her arm, seemingly afraid of the other Immortals in this vast Hall. 

"Well, come in," she said cheerfully. "There is no need to stand at the door now is there?"

Furious, the Ruler of Heaven limped forward and planted himself on the very center of the floor enclosed by the row of seat on which she sat. Chuckling, the Goddess of the Sun went to the part of the wall near the entrance, where her brothers Susanou no Mikoto and Kagutsuchi were standing. Next to the High Commanders of Heaven were the two Chancellors of the Underworld, who offered the golden-haired Immortal respectful bows before flanking the girl on either side and starting to whisper to her with voices too low to carry. From the way concern painted their identical faces, Izanami did not have to be a genius to figure out that they, too, were very worried about Amaterasu's health.

The twins were not the only ones who were, of course. Tsukiyomi, standing on the other side of the entrance with her surrogate daughters, kept sending surreptitious glances at the Goddess of the Sun. Undoubtedly the girl had realized that Amaterasu's health was deteriorating at a very disturbing rate.

"None of you were affected by the Sealing Field," Izanagi's loud and accusing voice brought her attention to the center of the floor, where the man was standing. "Traitors!" He then rounded on Izanami fiercely, "Although I have always known that you harbored no good will toward me, I never thought that you would invade my territory. This goes against all customs and laws! What are you trying to do, woman?" The man had courage, she had to give him that. Even when he had lost the ability to defend himself and was standing in the midst of his enemies, he was never afraid to say what he thought.

Before she could answer the Lord of Heaven, however, the eldest officer of the Arbiters had already spoken up, "To dethrone you, what else?" Ame no Minaka's voice, still sounding very young despite his aged appearance, was full of satisfaction. "You see, Izanagi," the name was emphasized as if to remind the Lord of Izumo that the Arbiter no longer considered him the lawful ruler of the Heavenly World, "you have been plaguing the Holy City for far too long. It is time you exit the stage and leave it for more suitable and able people to manage."

"That is a poor excuse." Izanagi snorted derisively. "Your ambition is as well known as your incompetence, Ame no Minaka."

The Arbiter, surprisingly, only laughed at the insult. "Well, I guess I just have to prove that you were wrong after Izanami-sama has made me the Ruler of Heaven."

"Actually, dear Arbiter," she said suddenly, "I have no such intention." Five hundred and one heads, including that of Izanagi, whipped at her in shock. For all she knew, she could have just slapped every single one of them.

"What do you mean, Izanami-sama?" Takami no Mikoto, the second officer of the Arbiters, asked in a dangerous voice.

"It would seem that all of you were under the false impression that I came here to supplant your rightful lord," she said, amused. "I am not. I commenced Operation Providence Breaker only because I needed a leverage to bargain with him." She winked at the Arbiters playfully. "I apologize for intentionally misleading you, ladies and gentlemen." Amaterasu laughed aloud.

"Why... you..." Takami no Mikoto would have gone for her throat, she was certain, had his senior officer not raised a hand to stop him. Ame no Minaka, who must have started scheming to take Izanagi's throne the very same day he was sworn in as an Arbiter, simply studied her with narrowed eyes afterwards while the rest of the Celestial Assembly began to converse with one another in panic. He was definitely a very dangerous man.

Chuckling, Izanami turned to a dumbfounded Izanagi and said, "My fellow Regent, you can only make one of two choices. You can either sign a Treaty I have graciously prepared for you before hand... or not sign it, obviously." The smile that formed on her lips afterwards told the other Maker of the World that nothing pleasant would happen to him should he chose the second route. The way that the man's lip compressed into a thin line told her that he got the message. The Celestial Assembly did too, so they gnashed their teeth and fumed in silence. Takami no Mikoto and Kami no Mikoto's faces could have done for a volcano's mouth.

"What kind of treaty is it?" Izanagi asked grudgingly.

"See for yourself, then." She looked at Tsukazaki Fuyura, who stepped forward and gave the Lord of Izumo the silk scroll that she had held in her hands from the beginning. Tsukazaki Haruhi remained where she stood and continued to pay special attention to a small bag sitting on the ground next to her feet. She doubted that even Amaterasu, who had been the major planner in Operation Providence Breaker, could guess what lay inside.

Once the male Maker of the World had received the scroll from the young Chancellor, he rolled it out and began to read. The more he did, the darker his mood grew and the more his hands trembled in anger.

"Read it aloud, Izanagi," she said. "I think everyone would like to know." That earned her a hard glare from the creep. He made her laugh out loud. He still realized that he was in no position to decline a request from her, though.

"The Treaty of Izumo," Izanagi read in such a grudging voice that the words could have been pulled out of his mouth by a pincer, "composed by the highest Power of the Underworld, requires the Ruling Power of Heaven to meet the following items without fail.

"One: there must be a permanent amendment to the law prohibiting the Ruling Power from making any law or provision that denies any two individual the right to fall in love."

The Goddess of the Moon let out a soft gasp, evidently surprised. There was no doubt that she had understood that the very first item was there to prevent the tragedies that had tortured her as well as the Sword God and the Seraphim Blade during the last three thousand years from happening ever again.

After he shot his adopted daughter an exasperated look, Izanagi continued with a voice that was no warmer, "Two: the current Ruling Power, as well as any that succeeds it, is forbidden from intervening in the life of the Priestesses of Kannazuki, or their future incarnations, in anyway possible."

This time, it was the Priestesses of the Sun and Moon who interrupted him with their surprised gasps. Himemiya Chikane was having a hand over her mouth and struggling to keep back her happy tears. Kurusugawa Himeko, who was holding the taller girl's right arm with both of hers, was weeping openly and quietly. They must have realized that once the Treaty was signed, no one in Heaven would be able to lay a finger on them ever again.

Acting as though nothing had happened, the Lord of Izumo continued smoothly where he left off, "Three: There is to be a public announcement that there shall be no retribution toward the High Commanders of Heaven who have participated in Operation Providence Breaker.

"Four: The Ruling Power is required to assemble in great haste a team that would work with the personnel of Reiha to repair the damages done to the Human World by the Orochi.

"The highest Power of the Underworld shall act as an enforcer to ensure that every item of this Treaty is thoroughly carried out in a timely manner."He shot Izanami an infuriated look. "Happy now?"

"Quite," she answered and smiled. "So, what say you?" She could hear the whole chamber quieting down.

"I never have a choice," the Lord of Izumo growled. "I shall sign it." He might as well announce that he was sending everybody to the headsman's block, for the great Hall erupted with outraged cries from the five hundred sets of mouths of the Celestial Assembly. The resulting sound was so great and alarming that Susanou no Mikoto and Kagutsuchi decided to place themselves firmly in front of their blood sister while Tsukazaki Haruhi moved in front of the Goddess of the Moon and her children. The other Chancellor started toward Izanami at first with a pace painted with worries but went with her sister in the end when Izanami gave the girl a shake of her head.

"No, you do not, Izanagi." Ame no Minaka's grim voice was crystal clear even amidst the roars and bellows of his colleagues. "You and your fellow Regent will both die here." He raised his hand overhead. Immediately the Sanctum Core fell quiet at the same time that every member of the Assembly brought their hands together and formed a glowing sphere between their palms.

"Foolish Arbiter." Izanami laughed. "Do you truly expect that I would come into your lair without preparation?" She snapped her fingers.

The effect was immediate. First, the rose bracelets worn by the ambitious Immortals fell to pieces right in front of their widened eyes. Then the power of the Sealing Field kicked in and quickly pulled them down on their stomachs. Even the Three Arbiters, strongest of them all, could not do anything other than letting out a hopeless cry before they, too, collapse.

Gracefully she gathered her hagoromo about her person, rose to her feet, and walked to where Izanagi was. The man, interestingly enough, was eyeing his fallen subordinates with an odd expression on his face. Were Izanami to guess, she would say that the Lord of Izumo was pondering what he was going to do to them afterwards. She doubted that anything the creep could come up with would be pleasant.

"The Treaty shall be signed with our blood," she told him, "so that it can bind us as long as we live." A gesture of her hand lifted the scroll from Izanagi's hand and suspended it firmly in the air in front of him. "You first, as a token of sincerity."

"Very well," the other Maker of the World muttered darkly as he bit on his forefinger. When his holy blood spilled out from the fingertip, he used it to place his signature on the bottom of the scroll. As soon as he was done, the wound closed and stopped the blood. Although the Crystal Roses took away his power, it still left his self-healing ability intact.

Smiling in satisfaction, Izanami used the forefinger of her left hand to slash at the palm of her right. Her skin then parted cleanly right in the middle and opened a path for her blood, which then rose upward in droplets that ultimately arranged themselves into her signature next to that of the Lord of Izumo.

"It is done," she announced. "As we have agreed beforehand, Heaven is yours again, my fellow Regent." She took the Treaty into her hand, opened a small Dimensional Portal that led directly to her office in the Rosenkyuu, and sent the little scroll through. Once she was done, she produced a rose bracelet from inside her hagoromo and gave it to the creep. Izanagi, who looked at the object the way one would a viper, grimaced before he put it on and pulled down his sleeve so that it went out of sight.

Ignoring him, Izanami walked to where Tsukiyomi was standing. "Congratulations, daughter," she told the silver-haired girl. "Your children are now free."

With tears streaking down her lovely face, the Goddess of the Moon sank to her knees, bent her back, and placed her forehead upon the cold floor of the Grand Hall of the Sky. Her surrogate daughters followed suit. "You have done so much for me, Mother," Tsukiyomi said in a breaking voice. "I do not know how to show you my gratitude."

"It is not I whom you must thank, daughter," Izanami said gently. A fluttering of her hagoromo's wide sleeves generated a gentle wind that lifted the young Goddess as well as her surrogate daughters back onto their feet. "Had Amaterasu not come to me three thousand years ago and sought my assistance, I would not have been here today."

"Yui... did?" the silver-haired Immortal said, surprise evident on her face.

Not answering the question, Izanami turned to Kurusugawa Himeko and Himemiya Chikane. "Little children, it is time you return to your world," she told them. The events that are coming to pass in this place were definitely not suitable for them to watch. Besides, it was the Goddess of the Sun's express wish that they did not. "Five minutes are all you have for farewells. You should hurry."

The two girls nodded, gave her a bow, and ran to the side of a pale-faced and sickly looking Amaterasu, where they hugged her and told her something Izanami failed to catch. Afterwards, the golden-haired Immortal ruffled their hair, gave them hugs and kisses on the cheeks before sending them back to the Goddess of the Moon.

"Since the residents of Izumo are forbidden from coming into contact with mortals, I doubt I can talk to you two anytime soon," she said before she pulled the children into a warm embrace. "But I promise I will find a way. Until then, my beloved daughters."

"I regret to interrupt, but there is no time," Izanami broke in gently. "They have to go." A wave of her hand raised another wind that pulled the Goddess of the Moon away from the Priestesses. A second one wove a horizontal Dimensional Portal that floated just a few inches above their head. A third pulled the silvery surface down and erased the seventeen-year-old girls as it went. When the Portal thinned and melted on the cold marble floor, the once prisoners of fate had already vanished.

"There is no time?" Tsukiyomi arched an eyebrow at her in confusion.

"Your childhood friend cannot take endure any longer, my dear child." Izanami sighed and watched as her daughter's silver eyes went as wide as they could.

"Indeed," agreed the Lord of Izumo, who then turned to look at the Goddess of the Sun with a hateful expression on his steely face. "It is her turn to say goodbye." Izanami could have slapped him. Even to the bitter end, even when the creep knew what was going to happen to his blood daughter, he still felt no remorse.

"Incredibly enough, I share the same thought." Amaterasu nodded after a sigh. "Goodbye, my brothers." She hugged the Gods of Storms and Fire, who wept openly and uncontrollably on their sister's slender shoulders. "Farewell, my friends." She turned to embrace the young Chancellors of the Underworld, who simply smiled at her and hugged her warmly in return.

"Izanami-sama," the golden-haired girl said fell onto her knees so quickly that Izanami never had time to stop her. "Given the situation, I can do naught to repay you for fulfilling my last wish. My gratitude is the only thing that I can give. So please, accept it." The Sun Goddess then proceeded to offer Izanami nine bows, each of which was low enough for her forehead to touch the floor, before she rose unsteadily back to her feet.

"There is no need for that, child," Izanami said quietly.

"There is," Amaterasu insisted with a smile and turned to face her silver-haired childhood friend, who had been watching her with a deeply puzzled and disturbed expression from the very start. "I do realize that I have not spoken with you much during the last three thousand years," she said, not bothering to mention that it was the Moon Goddess who refused to respond when she tried to initiate a conversation. As tears quietly rolled down her face, the layer of Crystal Rose petals on her hagoromo began to break apart. Those thin and transparent petals, as a result, rose upward as if in a vertical gust of wind and finally melted into nothingness. "But... I do wish you to know that I..." she paused to swallow down a sob, "I have always loved you, Yue-chan."

At the end of the sentence, shining cracks appeared and crisscrossed her entire body as though it was a mirror struck by a fist. A heartbeat later, the Goddess of the Sun shattered into a million pieces.

The sight shocked Tsukiyomi so greatly it pulled her down to her knees, where she stared at the fragments of the person who was once the most beautiful woman in the Three Worlds dissolved into thin air on the ground. When she finally came to realize what had just happened, she let out a full-throated anguished wail that reverberated thunderously in the Grand Hall of the Sky.

* * *

Upon hearing his adopted daughter's cry, Izanagi the Lord of Izumo felt goosebumps rising all over his skin at the same time that chills continuously slithered down his back. Although he was gladdened by Amaterasu's death – the eyesore of a Goddess had been bothering him for far too long – he did realize that with she gone, he had absolutely no chance of getting Tsukiyomi under control. That, obviously, was by no means a good thing. 

"Daughter, why are you crying?" inquired the female Maker of the World, who had squatted down by the Moon Goddess's side. The older woman's voice, surprisingly, was calm, cool, collected, and completely devoid of grief. It made his hackles rise.

"Yui... Yui... she..." was all that the silver-haired Immortal could utter between her sobs. Izanagi doubted she would stop crying anytime soon. After all, if she had been crying herself to sleep during the last three thousand years even when the woman she loved was still alive...

"Yes, she is dead," Izanami answered and gently pulled her daughter into her arms. For some reason, she glanced up at Izanagi at the same moment that she said her final word. Her accusing glare hit him so hard that he staggered a step backward in spite of himself. With her right hand traveling soothingly up and down Tsukiyomi's back and her amber eyes riveted unblinkingly on his face, she continued in the same voice, "But my child, she has been dead for the last three thousand years, do you not know?" Her eyes narrowed, her gaze sharpened, and her pupils seemed to shine with a murderous light. Izanagi took another step backward.

The Goddess of the Moon looked up at her biological mother with a tear-drenched face and asked, "What... do you... mean, mother?" Her voices were like broken glasses.

"Amaterasu has always loved you as a woman, not a friend or a sister," the Regent of the Underworld said quietly. "As such, every time you looked at her coldly, humiliated her publicly, or acted as though you truly despised her, a part of her heart died. Yet, she persevered. She thought that if she could just stay by your side and watch over you everyday, she might be able to continue living. She was wrong. In the end, her will to live shattered."

Those words could have been knives to the silver-haired Immortal, who stared at her mother in stunned silence with utmost agony and regret warring on her lovely face.

"She would have committed suicide then," Izanami continued, "had she not been informed of Project Kannazuki and what was going to happen to the Priestesses of the Sun and Moon. It was then that she decided that she could not rest in peace knowing that you were suffering because of the inhuman Project. It was then that she decided that she would grant your wish and rescue your daughter before she departed from this world."

"She... saved Chikane and Himeko... because..." the Moon Goddess whimpered, seemingly unable to finish what she wanted to say.

"Because she wished you to be happy, yes." The older woman nodded. "That was why she left no stone in Heaven unturned in search for a method to free Kannazuki Aoi and Kannazuki Akari from their vicious unending cycle. One day, she snuck into a certain someone's study because she thought that vital information was being hidden there. Most unfortunately for her, she was caught. I think you can guess what kind of punishment that she received as a result."

The girl's moist silver eyes went wide. "The Curse," she breathed. Izanagi grimaced. It was a secret that she was never meant to find out.

"Indeed," the Regent of the Underworld agreed. "The question is, of course, what it can do. Daughter, I believe that you were never aware that Yui was the only person in the Three Worlds who was capable of passing through the Core Sphere and its Thirteen Seals to visit Akira."

"I... never knew that," Tsukiyomi said, surprised.

"None is supposed to," her mother declared. "For if they were, they would figure out eventually that the fact meant that Amaterasu's soul was tied directly to the objects that maintained the dimensional prison itself." The woman let out a bitter laughter at the light of comprehension on Tsukiyomi's face. "That is right, child. It was the Eyes of Heaven. When a certain someone's study found her shuffling through the document in his study, he became deathly afraid that she would become a threat to his precious Project Kannazuki, so he decided to make sure that she would not. Ruthlessly, he used the Mirror of Life to bind her soul to the Eyes of Heaven so that if anything happened to them, the Goddess of the Sun would be torn apart. That someone thought that he had scared her into thinking that she had better stop trying to sabotage Project Kannazuki." The woman's amber eyes seemed to catch the light cascading down from the chamber's ceiling and intensified it. "He was wrong."

"Then... then the reason why Yui... collapsed was because..." Tsukiyomi sobbed.

"Because during the last three thousand years, sometimes the Sword God was able to snap out of his slumber," Izanami explained. "In those rare instances, he realized that he had been separated from the Seraphim Blade. He then unleashed his fearsome power upon the prison in the hope of breaking free and being united with the one he loved. He had no idea that he was in fact inflicting damages upon the well nigh indestructible Eyes of Heaven, which in turn transferred them to Amaterasu whole." The woman heaved a deep sigh. "So you see, daughter, her fate was decided the moment Enishi destroyed the Eyes of Heaven. She did not die right then and there only because the Suishou no Bara no Hagoromo I gave her long ago had delayed the effect of the Curse."

"She ... died for me." The silver-haired girl buried her face in her hands and wept harder than ever. "I was the one who killed her."

"No, you were not." Izanami shook her head. "It was someone else who murdered her in cold blood. Had it not been for him, she would never have had to suffer from the terrible internal impacts. Without him, she would have spent an eternity by your side and made you the luckiest woman in the Three Worlds. Do you know who I am referring to?"

At the end of the sentence, the Regent of the Underworld rose to her feet, took a few steps backward, and left the Goddess of the Moon kneeling upon the cold marble floor of the chamber, deathly quiet except from the occasional groaning of the Celestial Assembly. Izanagi swallowed hard. He had realized that Tsukiyomi's crying had ceased. The girl, instead, was gathering her celestial powers. The air grew cold. The ground began to show sign of an imminent upheaval. The members of the Assembly, having noticed the danger, wailed out loud and tried to get back on their feet just so they could flee to safety. The Sealing Field insisted that they stayed on the ground. His attention whipped back to the silver-haired Immortal, however, the moment silver light emerged from her body in the most menacing manner ever.

_"Izanagi,"_ Tsukiyomi said as she slowly stood up and turned around to look at him straight in the eyes. Her face was ice, her voice the sound of an unsheathing sword. As soon as she finished calling his name the way she would an enemy, powers exploded in her. Endless waves of pressure crashed against his body and tried to knock him down. The ground started to rise and fall as though being in an earthquake. The rolling motion of the floor broke the marble tiles, ruptured the wooden rows of seat, and sent flailing and screaming Assembly members into the air.

_"Calm yourself!"_ he shouted once he had elevated himself into the air. _"Are you trying to kill everyone here?!"_

"Not everyone," Tsukiyomi shouted back. "Just you!" She swung her arm in a wide arc and hurled a great pillar of light rushing toward him.

Hurriedly, he drew Towa no Nagare out of its scabbard and slammed its edge against the head of the pillar from beneath. In a deafening roar, the spell changed its direction and shot upward. It was so powerful that it punched cleanly through the vaulted ceiling the same way a sharp knife would flesh. What was there in the end was a large hole through which one could see a night sky dominated by a full moon. Night had come, and so did the time when Tsukiyomi's powers grew strongest.

As the light encompassing her slender body expanded to form a great sphere, it also unleashed a heavy rain of silver arrows toward him. Most of those he destroyed with Towa no Nagare. The others broke themselves on a cylindrical barrier woven in such a way that it enclosed the space surrounded by the lowest row of seat. On an undamaged part of it Izanami sat and idly looked at her lam, from the wound on which blood was still flowing out. Behind her stood the two High Commanders of Heaven and the Chancellors of the Underworld. Izanagi's eyes went wide. One of the raven-haired girls was holding a large orb of light, in which floated the black and white fragments of the most powerful magical weapon in the Three Worlds. It was what remained of the Mirror of Life. _Where did she get that?!_ he thought.

"It was you who violated the pact!" Tsukiyomi's icy and murderous voice jerked his attention back to her. "It was you who killed Yui!" Right now, she was holding so much power in her body that she could very well destroy half of the Holy City with just one blast. She frightened Izanagi no end. The situation was bad. Although Towa no Nagare was a powerful weapon, it did not offer him much help. The battle he had with the Goddess of the Sun just a while ago had but drained half of his energy. Against the silver-haired Immortal, whose strength was being greatly augmented by her grief and thirst for revenge, he had little chance of surviving, especially when she meant to take his life at all cost.

"I said once that if Yui died, I would bury you with her, did I not?" The Goddess of the Moon brought her hands together in front of her chest in such a way that her fingers enclosed a small empty space. Silver light flared from its heart. "I carry out that promise now!" At the end of the sentence, the marble floor was gone. What was left in its place was a gigantic mirror surface within which the reflection of the full moon on high grew more brightly after every second. In no time at all, it flooded the entire Sanctum Core with its blinding brilliance.

Izanagi's heart dove into his stomach. _Moonlight Symphony,_ he thought in horror. It was the most devastating spell that the silver-haired Immortal ever knew. Were it to be fully unleashed, it would destroy anything in its path except for the Mirror of Life and the Eyes of Heaven. However, its terrifyingly destructive power was not what was frightening him witless. What was, was the fact that the Goddess of the Moon was standing right atop the opening of the spell. At the very instant that she shot, she, too, would be reduced to ashes. _She means to escort me to the grave herself,_ he realized in bitterness. _What an honor._

He knew that if he wished to leave, he had better get himself out of the Core immediately. However, it was not that simple, for he was aware that Tsukiyomi could pinpoint his position anywhere in the sky and strike with such accuracy and speed that he would be dead before he could think of evading. Besides, he did not want to flee, for if he did, the one he loved would die right in front of his eyes. That had never been his intention. Even if every resident of Heaven perished, he still wanted Tsukiyomi to live.

As he looked around almost hopelessly for a solution, he caught sight of the Regent of the Underworld again. Even when her daughter was going to commit suicide, the woman still sat idly on the lowest row of seat and gazing idly at the holy blood trickling out of the wound on her palm. It was then that it struck him. He finally understood why Izanami refused to let her wound heal, why she instigated the Moon Goddess's anger, and why her subordinate was holding the fragments of the Mirror in her hands.

_"I will do it, Izanami!!"_ he bellowed. _"Stop her now!!"_

The Lady of Reiha moved so quickly that in less than a heartbeat, she had appeared right behind her daughter. She then put her uninjured hand atop the silver-haired girl's head and injected her powers. The silver light went out, the marble floor was restored to its original state, and Tsukiyomi sank helplessly to her knees. Heaving a sigh of relief, Izanagi landed on the ground, his hand still clutching the Flow of Eternity just in case.

"Why, Mother?" she asked the female Maker of the World in a tearful voice.

"Because it is necessary," Izanami answered quietly, stroked her daughter's head, and then walked to where he was. On her heels was one of the raven-haired twins who held the fragments of Inochi no Kagami. "Shall we?" she asked and erected her bleeding palm in front of her. Meanwhile, the Chancellor spread her hands and laid the pieces of First Supreme on the floor, where they were arranged immediately into Inochi no Kagami's original shape.

"Fine," he grumbled before he parted the skin on his own hand with Towa no Nagare and pressed his palm against that of the Regent of the Underworld. Since their blood together had forged the Mirror, it would make it whole once more. Mouth tightening, he invoked his powers.

Droplets of blood then dripped from their hands and fell upon the broken Mirror, into which they vanished. The more blood they shed, the closer the fragments pulled together and the more light emerged from their edges. In but a few minutes, the pieces stopped moving, the light faded, and Inochi no Kagami lay whole on the cold floor as though it had never been broken.

"We are not done," Izanami reminded him.

"I know," he muttered crossly.

Once his hand had separated from that of the woman, he used it to elevate the Mirror of Life into the air. Together, they pressed their bloody palms against the black side of the thing and channeled their powers inside at the same time that they recited the forbidden ritual words.

_"I am the Master of the Grave, Weaver of Man's Destiny, _

_ The Herald of One's Beginning, the Bringer of One's End. _

_ Together, let us bind the Dark, let us trap the Light. _

_ In My name, condemn the Living, awaken the Dead. _

_For my Wish, I Pledge my Blood, I Pledge my Life!" _

A rainbow-colored wave of light swept out from the other side of Inochi no Kagami. A few feet above Tsukiyomi's head, an oval-shaped golden surface emerged. From it, the Goddess of the Sun, naked as the day she was born in the artificial womb of Izumo's R&D Division, emerged downward and ultimately ended up in the Moon Goddess's embrace. Hastily, she took off the outermost layer of her hagoromo robe and wrapped it around her childhood friend's bare body.

"You have finally come back to me..." she sobbed as she held the golden-haired girl a little bit more tightly. "Yui..." The Goddess of the Sun, however, never noticed as she continued to be immersed in her slumber.

His whole self bursting with irritation, Izanagi planted himself firmly in front of the silver-haired Immortal, where he spoke in a very cold voice and with an even colder heart, "You two are not getting away unpunished." The casual silver look she tossed him before she bent over and placed a soft kiss on her lover's forehead told him that she did not care. It made his heart ache. "Since the Treaty your mother wrote never made any provision for anyone except Kagutsuchi and Susanou, I can do as I please with you." He suspected that it was the reason why the Regent of the Underworld only mentioned the two High Commanders. The woman had already known what he was going to do with the Goddesses of the Sun and Moon. He never wanted to admit the fact... but it could not be denied that she knew him as much as he did.

"Your crimes are heinous," he declared heatedly. "For that, I shall sever all ties that you two have with the Heavenly World and exile you... eternally."

Tsukiyomi's eyes went wide and her mouth fell open. Undoubtedly she had realized Izanagi's true intention. After all, she and Amaterasu were guilty of high treason, the penalty for which was death. Only an idiot would fail to notice that what he dealt out was not exactly punishment. The Goddess of the Moon had never been one... except for that one time when she chose another woman for a lover.

"Thank you... father..." The silver-haired Immortal bowed to him.

"Do not call me that!" he snapped. "I do not wish to see you two anymore. Before the dawn arrives, you will leave Heaven and never return. If you do, I will make you wish that I had beheaded you today." As soon as he was done, he grabbed the Mirror of Life and swept out of the Sanctum Core, barely able to see the Gods of Storms and Fire rushing toward their sister and Izanami falling in right behind him. He grimaced.

"Such a nice father you are, colleague," Izanami said in a cheerful voice.

Determined to ignore the infuriating woman, he simply strode forward. Unfortunately, she refused to leave him alone.

"The severing of ties and eternal exile." She chuckled quietly, appearing to have no difficulty in keeping up with his fast pace. "I cannot comprehend why you simply could not tell her right out that since they were no longer sisters or Izumo's residents, no one would be able to stop them from loving each other anymore.

"Be quiet!" he snapped. "I simply wanted to punish them and that is it. No deeper meaning."

"Your mouth has never agreed with your heart, Izanagi." Her chuckle turned into a hearty laughter. "From the beginning, you have always tried to protect my daughter. You never sent her, Amaterasu, Kagutsuchi, or Susanou to the Core because you feared they would find out that the two girls were in love. If they did, they would execute her immediately in accordance with your laws. That, obviously, was not what you wanted."

"I did not know that we had become chatting buddies, Izanami," he said scathingly and walked even faster. To his dismay, she followed suit.

"However, it was thanks to your love for her that Operation Providence Breaker became much easier to carry out," she continued as though he had not said anything. "In the beginning, out most difficult problem was planning a way to make sure that you would not be able to use the Mirror of Life against us. A solution surfaced when we found out that you had developed a habit of coming to Onogoro every afternoon. It was not difficult at all to figure out the reason why." Her amber eyes glittered in deep amusement. "The Priestesses reminded you of Tsukiyomi and Amaterasu, did they not?"

Izanagi did not say anything in response. What the other maker of the World said was the simple truth. Kannazuki Aoi and Kannazuki Aoi, whose memories he had read in the aftermath of the first holy war, disturbed him greatly. They made him question himself whether what he did was right or wrong. They ultimately forced him to descend into Onogoro to begin his observation. That had been why he chose to work for the High Priest of Shingetsu Grand Shrine, where they would eventually be united.

"Admit it, Izanagi," the Regent said playfully. "There is nothing to be embarrassed about, you know."

"Do you wish to tease me so much that you have to follow me all the way out here?" he growled in a dangerous tone.

"Partly, yes." She laughed. "But mainly, I just wanted to discuss with you how we are going to undo the damages that the Orochi had done to the Human World. It is by no means a trivial task, as you are well aware."

"Fine, come back with me to the Sanctum Core," he muttered darkly after heaving a deep sigh. And lift your damn Sealing Field from my City. We are going to need the Assembly's power to work the Mirror of Life." He was certain that he could coerce those senile bastards into doing what he wished them to. Since the Treaty that he signed made no provisions for pardoning them for their crimes, he had grounds for charging them with high reason and sending them back to the Citadel with bound hand and feet. Not that he would do it, though. No, he was going to use the rebellion as a lever to deal with them in the future and make sure that they became his faithful lapdogs. _I guess there is something good out of this after all,_ he smiled and thought.

* * *

As soon as the light around her faded away, Kurusugawa Himeko found herself standing with her beloved princess at the bottom of the marble flight of stair of the main hall in the deserted Mansion of the Himemiya. The only source of illumination they had came from the moonlight spilling through the great French windows around the spacious chamber. Yet, it was enough for her to behold her beautiful sweetheart, Himemiya Chikane the Priestess of the Moon, who was smiling at her with love shining brilliantly in her sapphire eyes. Himeko could only watch as the blue-haired girl moved closer, slipped her arms around her waist, and pulled her into a heartwarming embrace. As she rested her head on Chikane-chan's shoulder and put her arms around her back, she could hear their hearts beating as one in a quiet but powerful rhythm. 

_"As long as you continue to love each other,"_ the Goddess of the Sun had told them when they came to her to say goodbye, _"Enishi will always connect your souls. As long as your hearts continue to yearn for one another, the Thread will ensure that you two will be reborn into this world at the same time, same day, same month, same year, your feelings intact. Not even mortality would be able to separate you for long." _The Goddess then pulled them into her arms and hugged them tightly. _"My children, you are going to learn that you can experience the joy of your first love over and over again in each of your reincarnation as long as you wish it. Personally, I think that is much more precious than eternal lives." _

"Chikane-chan," she called the name of the girl she loved softly. It was different from how she had always addressed the blue-haired princess. Before, she had never dared show her emotions in her voice whenever they talked because she feared that her true feelings would be found out. Now, she did not need to hide anymore. Not when she already knew that the Priestess of the Moon loved her just as much.

"Yes, Himeko?" the blue-haired girl replied in a voice that was equally affectionate.

"Give me your left hand," she murmured, a side of her head still resting upon her lover's right shoulder, her face buried cozily against the other girl's neck. Not only was she warm and soft, she was also as fragrant as a rose in full bloom. Her lips were yearning to touch the silky skin. Her whole body was longing for Chikane-chan's touches.

"As you wish." The princess of the Himemiya lifted the hand from Himeko's waist and held it in front of her face.

Without breaking the hug, she reached inside her Priestess chihaya and took out a small sapphire ring. It was what she had bought a month ago in order to give to the one she loved as a present. It was what she had lost in the day following their birthday. It was what returned to her when she was at the depth of despair and awakened the powers that had been sleeping inside her from the very start. Gently, she slipped it around her sweetheart's ring finger and placed a soft kiss upon the back of the blue-haired girl's hand before she hugged her as tightly as she could. "I love you so very much, Chikane-chan," she whispered afterwards.

"I love you too, dear my little angel," the Himemiya princess whispered back. "And I am sorry I broke the ruby ring I gave you." Her voice was filled with regret.

"You can just buy me a new one," Himeko said and felt her face warming up rapidly. "How about... a simple gold band? And if it's not too much of a bother... how about a matching one for you as well?"

Her words earned her an amused chuckle and a kiss on the cheek from her beloved. She trembled, thinking to herself that the happiness that was brimming in her might just tear her apart.

"Your wish is my command," the blue-haired girl murmured.

"Is it, now?" Himeko laughed softly.

"Can I ask you a question, Himeko?"

"Yes," she replied and burrowed a little deeper into her sweetheart's embrace. It was a lifeless Mansion they were standing in... but to her, it was a beautiful paradise.

"You never called me Aoi even though I did all I could to prove to you that Himemiya Chikane was dead. Why?"

Himeko chuckled softly. "Because no matter what you did or said, I could still feel my kind and gentle Chikane-chan... in here." She lifted a hand and placed it on her beloved's chest. Her skin, as well as her face, burned the moment it came into contact. "Does that... answer your question?"

"It does." The princess nodded, slightly pulled away, placed her hands on either side of Himeko's face, and gently lifted it up. Then she drew hers closer. Heart pounding madly in her chest, Himeko put her arms around her princess's neck, rose on her toes, and attempted to kiss her.

As it turned out, she couldn't.

The instant before their lips could touch was also the one in which a wave of nausea hit her so hard that she would have fallen backward had the girl she loved not caught her in her arms. Light flared above her head and noise flooded the surrounding. The Himemiya Mansion was deserted no more. The maids, who must have materialized out of thin air, were scurrying around in their nightly duties. Some were scrubbing the floor, some cleaning the expensive vases their master had bought, and some looking at the blue-haired princess and her in sheer curiosity as though they were trying to puzzle out why their Ojou-sama was hugging another girl.

Himeko knew exactly what just happened. There was a newly implanted piece of memories in her mind that told her that today was October the third, her birthday, and also the day in which the Orochi struck the City of Mahoroba. Except that they did not. The world had never been damaged, completely ignorant of the fact that they was almost wiped out by Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne the Seraphim Blade. It was the doings of the Lord of Heaven, she was sure.

Suddenly, the great hall fell silent. Every pair of eyes there was now fixed upon Himeko and her sweetheart, probing, questioning, and speculating. Then they began to converse with one another in a voice to low to carry. When certain phrases were uttered – Himeko thought one of them was _"secret lovers"_ – they gasped.

"Ojou-sama," said the Head Maid Kisaragi Otoha, who emerged from the gathering crowd, "may I inquire as to who this lovely young lady may be?" Her face was tight. Her voice made her face seem relaxed. Her words told Himeko that the Immortals of Heaven had wiped the older woman's memories clean.

"Her name is Kurusugawa Himeko," the Priestess of the Moon said, appearing to have no intention of unwrapping her arms from around Himeko. In fact, the girl pulled her in a little closer. "She is the person I love." More gasps rose. A great many eyes widened. Just as many jaws dropped. Some, surprisingly, began to whistle aloud. Shocked by her lover's boldness, Himeko gripped the clothes on the other girl's front and hid her burning face in the crook of the Himemiya heiress's neck. "So, please serve her as faithfully as you have served me, Otoha-san."

While the Head Maid's face looked like a volcano about to erupt, Chikane-chan's was graced with a more than amused smile. "I understand, Ojou-sama," Otoha said almost grudgingly afterwards. She never said she would do as the young mistress of the Himemiya said, Himeko realized.

"My little angel, shall we retire to our room?" said the blue-haired princess, who pulled away from Himeko and offered her an arm afterwards. "The night grows late, and I am sure you are very tired."

"Our... room?" she repeated in puzzlement. A heartbeat later, when she finally understood what her lover meant, blood rushed to her face. Still, she took Chikane-chan's arm, held it tightly with both of hers, and followed the blue-haired girl's lead. Together they climbed the flight of stairs and said nothing while being fully aware that the maids were cheering and whistling very loudly in the background. She sincerely hoped they would stop soon.

"Kurusugawa-sama, could I have a little bit of your time right now?" the Head Maid's voice called suddenly and halted their steps.

"Yes, Otoha-san?" she turned around and asked.

"For some reason, I have an inkling that you are very fond of shiitake mushroom," the older woman said, her lips wearing a secretive smile. "Should I design the menu so that it will be contained in your every meal?"

Her heart took a deep dive into her stomach at the same time that her beloved began to laugh softly behind a raised hand.

* * *

Although she was sitting in the classroom at the moment, Saotome Makoto was not paying any scrap of attention to the lecture. Instead, she gazed lazily out of one of the classroom's windows and wondered why on earth she had chosen to come here and brood in silence while her former roommate, Kurusugawa Himeko, was at home and acting all lovey-dovey with Ototachibana Academy's sweetheart, Himemiya Chikane. Mouth tightening at the thought, she suddenly became so angry that she would have destroyed the school had she retained even the smallest scrap of her Orochi power. Ever since last night, she had been asking herself why the Immortals of Heaven did not erase her memories so that she would be able to forget about the whole ordeal. 

"Saotome-san," the teacher's voice rang sternly across the classroom, "is my lecture so boring you have to focus your attention elsewhere?" The whole class was looking at her. Strangely though, some of the girls were blushing furiously while the boys growled almost noisily in the background.

"Sorry, ma'am," Makoto muttered.

"And would you please tell the gentleman over there to stop peeking into the class while I am teaching?" Most shockingly, the cheeks of the tall woman, who was already in her late forties, were coloring as well. She reminded Makoto of a giddy girl who had just caught sight of the man in her dreams. "It's very... distracting." The woman's voice cleared her throat.

Surprised, Makoto looked back at the window and immediately found her jaw dropping. On one of the branches of the ancient tree standing outside of the classroom sat a man whose short and dark hair framed a face so handsome he would make Oogami Souma's look plain. It was Susanou no Mikoto the God of Storms. He was the person who was causing the commotion in her class.

_Why the hell is he here?!_ she thought in alarm. _Isn't there some sort of rule that forbids an Immortal from making contact with a human?_

"You seem bored, Makoto," said the Immortal, his lips curving upward in great amusement. Even without turning and look, she was still able to know that those loud noises she just heard came from the girls who had just collapsed at seeing the smile of the God of Storms. "Instead of staying here, child, why don't you show me around the city?"

She thought she was going to sick up.

* * *

"Why did you not go to school today, Souma?" the voice of the former First Head of the Orochi said sternly at Oogami Souma's door. As far as he was concerned, his blood brother had not bothered to knock before he opened the door and entered. 

"Not in the mood, nii-san," he answered curtly before he lay back on his bed and continued his study of the ceiling.

"What's wrong, Tsubasa-kun?" This time, it was the Shingetsu High Priest. The man, who was wearing his casual blue yukata like usual, was standing behind Tsubasa-nii-san with a puzzled and amused expression on his face. For some reason, Souma was certain that it was not him and his blood brother that the man was amused at.

"He cut classes today, sensei," the man in the white cape said accusingly after a gesture at Souma, obviously displeased. _Now... when did he become my mom?_ he thought irritably. _And coming to school so that I have to see Himeko being lovey-dovey with Himemiya? No thanks._

"Sensei?" The High Priest sighed. "Must you call me that? Aren't we a family now?" Earlier this morning, the man had submitted the necessary paperwork to the local ward office to adopt the former Orochi into the Oogami Clan. Much to Souma's dismay, Tsubasa-nii-san was allowed to move into the room right next to his. Much as he loved his brother, it was never his intention to be this close to the man, who had begun to show disturbing signs of a mother with too much time on her hand. Souma muttered darkly under his breath at the thought.

"I apologized, nii-san," Tsubasa-nii-san said respectfully.

"And yes, Tsubasa-kun," the High Priest said as a smile crossed his face, "Miyako-kun and Tokiya-kun came to visit you."

Tsubasa-nii-san's face paled a little bit... and Souma laughed aloud. His laughter died quickly, however, when he realized that should the woman Girochi Miyako succeeded, she would become his sister-in-law. That... was not funny or pleasant... at all.

* * *

In the light of the bright morning, in the songs of the birds and the fluttering of the doves, in the lush green of the trees around her, Oota Reiko gave the grave of Natsune, her deceased lover, another bow before she started toward the entrance to the churchyard. There waited a cute girl in casual clothing that made it impossible for anyone to guess that she used to weak much less. Ever since the girl learned of what Reiko thought about her scandalous clothes, she had immediately given them away and purchased others that would not cause drivers on the street to crash their cars against each other's whenever she walked by. 

"I cannot understand why you are afraid of coming to Natsune's grave," Reiko said as she took her girlfriend's hand into hers and walked with the girl down the empty street leading back to Reiko's modest apartment. Although she had made a great deal of money with the publication of her manga, she simply put them in the bank in case she needed them. After all, ever since Natsune passed away, she found little reason to spend money for herself. Yet, now that she had found someone she loved, maybe she could start learning how to use them again.

"Well... you see..." Korona hesitated. "I'm not sure that she'd want to see me. After all, I made you break your vow. She must be pretty mad."

"It was not your fault that I fell in love with you," Reiko replied in a quiet voice. "If she was going to be angry at someone, it would be me."

"No, it's my fault!" Korona insisted. "It did everything I could to make you fall for me. If I hadn't..."

"No, it is mine." Reiko shook her head. "Because I let you get too close to me that..." She stopped abruptly, however, when the former Orochi Fourth Head began to laugh so hard that a tear leaked from her corner of her eyes. Amused, she simply continued walking hand in hand with the girl she loved and waited for the pop idol's mirth to subside.

"Although I've seen lots of people trying to put the blame on one another before," Korona said in the end as she wiped the tear from her face with her shirt's sleeve, "I never did people who tried to _take_ the blame like we do."

"We are made for each other, then," Reiko whispered before she moved in and placed a soft peck on the younger girl's lips. A man who was walking passed them at that exact moment tripped on his feet and almost fell down on his face. Chuckling softly, they ignored him and kept on walking.

"You know what, Reiko?" the pop idol murmured after a while. "I don't have much courage now... but one day I would. Then I'll come and with you every time you visit her." She beamed up at her afterwards. "Would that make you happy?"

"Yes it would." Reiko tapped the tip of her sweetheart's nose with her forefinger. The girl blushed.

It was indeed a good thing that she had retained all of the memories but none of her Orochi powers, for now she could enjoy her everyday life like a normal person would. Now that she had once again found the meaning to her existence in the girl she loved, she was willing to forgive the world for what it had done to her in the past. She only hoped that Natsune, wherever she was in the afterlife, would understand and forgive her for it.

* * *

Lying on the side on the bed, Himemiya Chikane idly watched as the gentle light of the morning brighten into the harsh glare of early noon. School had started and should be half way through, yet she had no intention of moving away from her current position, let alone getting up. The maids in the Mansion had to be in frenzy right now. She would be shocked if they were not. This was the first morning Chikane did not come down for breakfast like always after all. A while ago, she even heard anxious footsteps outside the room. _Must be Otoha's,_ she thought in amusement. She did not think she would care even if the Head Maid were going to hound her door all day. And that was because in her arms right now, under the white sheet of her bed, was the one she loved, sleeping like an angel. 

In the light of the late morning, Himeko's snowy skin, warmer than any fire, glowed brighter than a beacon in the dead of night. Her head was resting on Chikane' arm, her long hair, fine threads of pure gold, stirred slightly in the fresh breezes that came in through the open windows, and her long eyelashes cast flickering shadows on a face beautiful beyond words. In her chest, rising and falling gently and most seductively, a wonderful heart was beating in rhythm with Chikane's own. Snuggled in her embrace was the most magnificent being ever created. Alone, the former Priestess of the Sun was worth much more than all the treasures in the world.

Unable to resist the urge, Chikane placed a soft kiss on the golden-haired girl's lips. It was only then did she notice that something was not right. Combing her fingers smoothly through the little angel's silky hair, she smiled softly and said, "Good morning, Himeko."

"I didn't think I'd be found out so quickly." Her sweetheart's eyelids fluttered. Her beautiful amethyst eyes then gazed into Chikane's sapphire adoringly while the corners of her gorgeous lips curved into a small yet ever so wondering smile. "How did you know?"

"You twitched," Chikane answered, amused. "And your heart is pounding more loudly than a drum." She took the little angel's hand and placed it on the girl's chest. "Can you not feel it?"

"I'll need to work on my acting a little bit more, I suppose," said Himeko, who gave her delicate lips a thoughtful tap.

"Why?" Chikane frowned. "What can you get out of deceiving me?"

"Well, ah..." Blood rose in Himeko's face, a crimson color slowly marring her white and smooth cheeks. "I was... thinking that if I kept pretending that I was asleep and clung onto you, I could have you hold me for the rest of the day..."

"You selfish girl," she said, pretending to make a face while feeling her cheeks growing as hot as an oven. "You never care whether my arm would ache, do you?"

"Nope." The golden-haired girl stuck out her tongue at Chikane and laughed.

"Then take punishment for your heartlessness, Himeko."

Chikane drew her beloved into a loving kiss, which the latter returned, deepened, and ended up stealing all the air in her lungs. Considerably long afterward, she pulled away from the little angel, quite reluctantly, to prevent both from suffocating to death. She did not believe any other reason could have made her release her lover from it. She had grown somewhat fond of kissing Himeko ever since last night, she supposed. _How could I not have?_ she thought. Himeko's alluring lips were so sweet they made honey taste bland and so beautiful a flower would pale in contrast. And of course, she doubted she was the first person to think that way. She only wondered how Oogami Souma would react should she smooch Himeko in front of him. Would he faint from the shock? Or would he explode in fits of jealousy? She could not wait to find out.

"What kind of unconventional punishment is that?" The golden-haired girl grinned. "You were just trying to find an excuse to kiss me."

"I was," she admitted.

"But seriously, don't do that too often, ne..." Himeko murmured and wrapped her arms around Chikane's neck, "you'll grow tired of it someday." She laughed quietly. The former Priestess of the Sun was one to talk when _she_ acted as though she wanted to pull Chikane in again as soon as their lips parted.

"That is not possible. Even if I got to kiss you every second until I died, it would never be enough," she whispered into the other girl's ear and made her color furiously.

"You're too naughty for an Ojou-sama, Chikane-chan," her lover declared. The smile she gave her afterwards robbed the sting off her words.

"How rude, I am not."

"Yes you are!" Himeko looked away from Chikane and proceeded to fiddle with her forefingers. Her face could have done for a sunset. "What you did last night was... embarrassing."

"I see. I will leave you alone from now on, then."

"I'm... not asking you... to..." With every word that she uttered, her voice dropped a little bit lower. Toward the end, Chikane was barely able to tell what her girlfriend had said.

"Who _is_ the naughty one here, I wonder?" She laughed as her arms tightened lovingly around the Sun Priestess's tender, soft, and mysteriously fragrant body.

"Good point." The golden-haired girl, too, laughed.

Despite her teasing the other girl about it, Chikane still felt flames raging fiercely on her face. The night in which the other girl became hers was sweet, the moments that tore down any reservation they might have but gratifying. Himeko had given her all and surrendered everything into Chikane's touch. Last night, time was frozen. Last night, the earth no longer turned. The whole world aside from her and her beloved girlfriend might as well never exist. All that she could see was the golden-haired angel's breathtaking form, which was entangled with her own amid the beddings. All that she was able to hear was the little angel's soft whispers of her name whenever she was not distracted by the passionate kisses. All that mattered to her was her sweetheart's loving arms about her back, every inch of her tender skin pressed against hers in the rhythm of their quest to learn the secrets of each other's body. The breaths they released on one another's face was searing-hot, the touches they made were electric yet frighteningly gentle and kind. She doubted the memory of such abandon would fade from her memory, if ever.

"It is nice weather outside, Himeko." She decided to change the subject. Keep thinking about it and she might just cook her face and brain alive. "Perfect for skipping school and having fun somewhere."

"I never expected that from an honor student like you." The other girl giggled. "But you're right."

"Where would you like to go?"

She thought for a little bit and said, "I'd like to go see that puppy. Would that be okay?"

"The one you were chasing after on the day we first met?"

"Yep." The former Priestess of the Sun then caressed Chikane's cheek softly with her hand while she gave her the adorable smile that she always loved. "It was him who brought you into my life. For that, I'm grateful. I'd like to thank him properly even when he is just a puppy." The words were simple, the sentences short, yet she could feel the warmth and affection overflowing in her sweetheart's quiet and gentle voice.

"Himeko..." Chikane put her hand atop that of the golden-haired girl and held it closer. It was the hand of the Sun Priestess, the person who had saved Chikane from the abyss of despair and granted her one and only wish.

"I'll pick clothes for you, Chikane-chan. But I'm kinda afraid you will look like a kid in a matching pair with me."

"It would be wonderful, Himeko." She rubbed her forehead against that of the little angel. "Give yourself some credits."

"Not just clothes, I'll choose shoes, bags, and accessories for you, too." Her sweetheart smiled brightly. "I'll make boxed lunches for both of us."

"Then we better get to it, that is, if you want to get home before midnight," she said and attempted to sit up straight. Before she knew what was happening, she had already been pulled back onto the mattress and found the little angel's sweet lips pressing most lovingly against hers in a kiss that could thaw ice. Wasting no time, she slipped her arms around her girlfriend's slim waist and kissed her back.

When they broke away afterwards, Himeko burrowed deeper into her embrace and whispered into the crook of her neck, "It doesn't have to be right now or even today, Chikane-chan."

"Why not?" she asked, puzzled.

"Because I want you to stay here, by my side," the little angel answered in a quiet voice. "Because I want to look at you a little more." She held onto Chikane with her whole self and began to shiver as though cold. "Is it not okay?"

"What is the matter?" She asked while her hands ran soothingly up and down the golden-haired girl's back and her lips brushed lovingly against her forehead. Her method seemed to be working. "Something on your mind?"

Himeko only gave a vague _"Mmm"_ in response and attempted to silence her by offering another kiss. Much as she wanted it, she declined by putting a finger against her lover's lips. She had an idea why Himeko was behaving this way, though. Ever since she returned to bed from the sudden phone call last night, the former Sun Priestess had practically glued herself onto her and refused to let go. Not that Chikane minded the intimacy, of course.

"You heard me talking to my Father, did you not?" Chikane asked, smiling.

"Am I that transparent?" the golden-haired girl said, slightly startled.

"So that is a yes, eh, you eavesdropping girl." Chikane pinched her sweetheart's cheek playfully. "Now, are you going to make me guess the rest of the way?"

"Well." The little angel cleared her throat. "I heard you saying on the phone that your parents were going back home the day after tomorrow..."

"Correct, straight from America," Chikane agreed. "Funny how they said they missed me but they did not spare me a second to speak about _us_ before they hung up and ran to some parties. But what about them?"

"Umm... you told me about your... father once, remember?" Himeko hesitated. "He sounds... inflexible."

"And?"

"What do you mean, _and?"_ She poked Chikane below the ribs and made her laugh out loud. "Aren't you afraid at all?"

"Afraid?" she said. "Of my Father? What can he possibly do that scares me, or my little angel?"

"Take this seriously, Chikane-chan," her sweetheart said, sounding slightly exasperated. "Your father's not going to be pleased that his daughter is... umm... seduced by another _girl. Why are you laughing?" _

"If _you_ were the one who did the _seducing_, how was it possible that _you_ did not have the courage to look _me_ in the eye last night?" She grinned openly at her girlfriend's rapidly reddening face.

"Well... I... I..." Himeko stuttered. "But that's not the point!"

"I know, I know." Chikane smiled as she nuzzled her nose against that of her sweetheart in an attempt to calm her down. "But you are worrying yourself over nothing, Himeko. You even defied the Immortals for my sake, did you not? And look where we are."

"That's because Amaterasu-sama bailed us out," the little angel protested. "Now that we have severed all ties with Heaven, she can't do anything to save me from, say, being thrown out by your father. I think Otoha-san would be very eager to help," she added wryly.

"Why do you not think about the possibility that my Father may very well like you for the charming girl you are?"

"I'm not joking," Himeko said in frustration. "What if he decides that he doesn't want me in your life?"

"You were afraid my Father is going to separate us? Was it the reason why you felt so insecure that you sought me out in the night?"

The former Priestess of the Sun nodded and tried to hide her deeply flushed face with her hands.

"Silly Himeko, thinking about such trivial things." Chikane tightened her arms around her beloved tender body and received a soft grateful murmur that she could not make out what in response. "Should you not know me well enough by now?"

"Hmm?" the golden-haired girl breathed into her embrace. "What should I know about someone who didn't dare confess to me during that last year and ended up keeping everything to herself?"

"A little secret, dear my precious angel," Chikane whispered. "Every time I look at you, I fall in love with you all over again. I cannot live without you and I shall not live without you no matter what my parents may do. They can disown me. They can chase me to the end of the world for all I care. The one thing that they will never succeed is forcing me to stop loving you."

"Chikane-chan..." Himeko gazed at her while a dazzling smile removed all signs of anxiety and softened her beet-red face.

"Does that make you feel better?" She continued after an embarrassed nod from the girl she loved, "That secret is not for free, Himeko. You must give something in return." She drew her face closer to that of the adorable golden-haired girl.

"I'd be more than happy to," the little angel murmured.

They returned to the endless symphony of hugs and kisses, pausing only momentarily just to let their breath catch up and then to feel the sweetness of each other's lips once more. Slowly, Chikane's left hand found Himeko's right. Their Priestess powers were fading away fast. Soon, they would lose the ability to see the sparkling Red String of Fate entwining their little fingers. Still, she knew that Enishi was still there, and would be for all eternity, regardless of how many reincarnations they might take. Until the end of time, they would be born on the same day, same hour, near to one another, their feelings intact. Their lives, their hearts were one now. If no God could separate them, no man would, even if that man was her Father. She had promised Himeko to never leave her side again, and she would pay any price to keep it.

_"Why are you yawning so hard, Chikane-chan? And why do you stare at me like that?" _

_"Because _you_ kept me awake all night, Himeko." _

_"I... I... didn't do anything!" _

_"Yes, you did. You and your sleep-talking habit refused to let me close my eyes and sleep." _

_"What... did I say?" _

_"Are you sure you want to hear? It may be embarrassing, you know." _

_"..." _

_"Fine, I will tell you. You said _I love you, Chikane-chan._ Dreaming of me, I take it?" _

_"..." _

_"Have I ever told you how cute you are when you blush, Himeko?" _

_"And how is that supposed to make you sleep-deprived? It sounds that disturbing to you?" _

_"No, Himeko. I had to stay awake because I wanted to hear you say it over and over again." _

_"..." _

_"Do you want me to get a mirror? Okay, okay, I was joking!" _

_"You could have woken me up and... asked me to say it, you know..." _

_"You would not be angry?" _

_"No." _

_"Then one more time, for me, please?" _

_"I love you, Chikane-chan." _

_"I love you, too, dear my precious angel." _


	15. Epilogue: When the curtains fall

_**THE EPILOGUE: WHEN THE CURTAINS FALL.**_

* * *

Note: 

Danna-sama: what the servants call the Master of a household.

Oku-sama: title given to the Mistress of the household.

* * *

It was already way past midnight, yet Yui, lying on her side, was still fully awake. She should have been able to close her eyes without having them spring open just a heartbeat later, providing that just a few hours ago, she and her loving companion, Yue, had lain in each other's arms, tangled in the linen beddings, so exhausted they barely had the strength to breathe. She should have been able to sleep, as Yue once in a while would whisper into Yui's ears the lullaby composed from words of love before the silver-haired girl drifted off to her own slumber. Yui should have been able to even have sweet dreams – denied to her during the last three thousand years sometimes by feverish nightmares and most of the times, tearful sleeplessness – for she now had what she wished for most, never-ending bliss and the eternal company of the most magnificent girl in the world. She but wondered if her restlessness tonight was caused by the happiness that had been welling up in her soul, or the fear that all of this – the girl's warm and even breaths tickling against Yui's neck, the smoothness of her snowy skin under Yui's hand, or the softness of her small and fragile body engulfed in Yui's embrace – were but illusions created by her vicious father. 

Carefully, Yui rolled Yue off her arm, laid the girl's head gently on the soft, fluffy pillow, then rose quietly from the bed. She took a white yukata hanging over the changing screen and wrapped it around her bare body. After that, she went to the far side of the room in the Lunar Shrine, slid open the shoji door and sat down on the wooden floor, gazing at the dark, faraway horizon. The Moon looked even more lifeless than ever with its surface torn apart by seemingly bottomless cracks formed during the battle between Yui and Izanagi the Lord of Heaven a couple of days past.

She sighed. Although Yui and Yue had rebuilt the Lunar Shrine without breaking a drop of sweat, they were but powerless when it came to bringing life back to the deserted Moon. This place – once called the Land of the Eternal Light, honored as the most beautiful sanctuary in the Creation Realm – had been so _thoroughly_ destroyed by the fight between Rinne and Akira three thousand years ago that not a spark of life was left beneath the ground. Yui doubted anything short of the _Mirror of Life_ could return the Moon's long-lost beauty.

"Yui-chan?" a crystalline, melodious voice called, followed by the soft sounds of footfalls upon the wooden floor. Yui turned her head, and found herself hit by a wave of wonder.

Even though most of the room was occupied by darkness, Yue still managed to be as radiant as if she stood amid sunlight. Silver hair falling in a straight, glossy stream to her feet, body covered loosely in white bed linen, showing skin on her neck, her shoulder, her long and slender legs, the Goddess of the Moon walked toward Yui and stopped upon reaching her. Yui looked up at her sweetheart, feeling as though drown in a sea of wine. The Immortals of Heaven were wrong when they kept repeating that Yui was the most beautiful being in the Three Worlds, for she believed only Yue was worthy of such title. She was not the only one who held onto that opinion, of course. Izanagi the Lord of Izumo, whether he'd admit it or not, obviously agreed.

"Why are you out here, Yui-chan?" Yue asked softly while settling gracefully on her knees next to where Yui sat. With the "-_chan_" added, the silver-haired girl turned Yui's name into the cutest sound ever.

"I couldn't sleep, so I didn't want to disturb you," Yui answered with a smile. "How about _you_? Why are _you_ awake? You were just snoozing soundly just a minute ago."

"Well, I…" Yue began. For some reason, she stopped abruptly after that, face growing redder by the minute. The beautiful girl looked away, then, clutching the bed linen at her front more tightly with her hands.

"Oh, I see." Yui laughed softly. "You couldn't sleep without me next to you, is that it?" Judging by Yue's face, the very picture of the setting sun, and the embarrassed look in her silver eyes, Yui's arrow must have struck the bull's eye of the board.

"You're so cute, Yue-chan," Yui whispered into her sweetheart's ear and gave her a light peck on the cheek, turning the face of the Goddess of the Moon even redder, if that was possible. Smiling, Yui put an arm around Yue's back and pulled her closer while her vacant hand gently cupped the silver-haired girl's chin and lifted it up. Their lips found one another in a deep kiss that took their breath away.

Even after their lips had parted, Yui didn't release her cuddly companion. She slid a hand beneath Yue's knees, lifted her up, and placed the silver-haired girl on her laps. Although the Goddess of the Moon gave a surprised squeak at first, she adapted to the situation quickly by settling her arms around Yui's back, propping her head upon Yui's shoulder, and nuzzling her nose against Yui's neck while muttering things that Yui found utterly unintelligible. On the other hand, they sounded so adorable in Yue's sweet voice that Yui would be perfectly happy to listen to them all night.

Sighing in contentment, Yui hugged her sweetheart tightly, leaning down to kiss her forehead or her cheek once every so often. Sometimes, the other girl would reach up and kissed her lightly on the lips, perhaps out of gratitude, or perhaps she just wanted to – Yui couldn't tell. They stayed that way for another while, enjoying each other's blessedly heart-warming company. Yui almost wanted to pinch her cheek just to make sure that this was not a wishful dream. She could not help, really, when she had spent the last three thousand years thinking that she was hated by the one she loved, when she had spent every moment, dreaming and awake, grieving for the first eighteen years of her life. She could not stop herself from doubting reality, for after all, the memory of that sorrowful day still seared her heart. It might take a while for her new-found happiness to heal it completely and forever remove its scar….

…

_Face soaked with tears, which had started overflowing as soon as she woke, Yui stared at the darkness that hung about the ceiling. The holographic clock read twelve noon, yet only the light of a lamp post standing outside, beneath the dark, starless heavens, shone through her opened window. Of course, the Sun had died, just as she was about to herself. Once she drew her last breath, the Sun would explode on the spot, for they could not exist without one another. Well, Father would do something about that, naturally. No doubt he would create a new Sun and a new Goddess to take Yui's place. She only pitied the mortals what would die before the light of the new Sun would once again warm the Earth. In fact, according to what Izanagi-sama had told her every time he came here and tried to rouse her from her depression, a lot had died already. Her Father said that some froze to death while most became food in the bellies of the monsters born from the dead of night. Yet, try as the man might, he could do nothing to bring back to Yui the will to live. After all, why should she even want to? A life where she couldn't see the one she loved ever again was simply not worth the effort. _

_Yue… her beloved Yue-chan…. Yui wept harder. Why did this have to happen? _

_From when Yui was little, she had always liked Yue more than anyone else in the world. Growing up, it took her little time, and effort, to realize that she had found in Yue the other half of her existence, the one she wanted to spend immortality with. During their adolescent years, she had strived to stay by Yue's side, trying her best to make the girl happy without saying right out that she had fallen in love. Perhaps she was shy, perhaps she thought that it wasn't that necessary, or perhaps she feared Yue would be horrified at her abnormal love. Or perhaps a little bit of all three, Yui didn't know for sure what she felt at that time. _

_Then that day came, when Yui invoked the power of Inochi no Kagami to save the flower Yue had brought to Heaven from their most recent excursion trip to the Earth. She almost lost her life wielding the Mirror, but it was worth it, for Yue had given her something she had desired for a very long time in exchange. A kiss on the lips, a declaration of love from her most precious person. It was a mere touching of lips, yet it meant more than anything that could be told. Overwhelmed by the sensation and the affection that flowed into her soul, also from the fatigue of wielding First Supreme, Yui had passed out… just to regain consciousness a few days later when words were brought to her that Yue had returned to the Underworld. _

_Seized with incredulity, she had rushed to see her Father the Lord and ask for the reason. In his study, she found a man driven over the edge with rage, who snarled at her like a beast that she had better vanish from his sight before he ripped her head off. Later, her brothers, the young Susanou and Kagutsuchi, told Yui that the newest quarrel between Izanagi-sama and Izanami-sama had hammered the last nail on the coffin of the relationship between Heaven and the Underworld. Furious, the Lady of Reiha had decided to take Tsukiyomi the Goddess of the Moon back to her home City and severed all ties with Izumo. War was imminent. Yui hardly cared, for she had passed out once again as soon as she learned that Yue would probably never come back. _

_From that point on ward, she spent her days crying her heart out in her room. She didn't touch a grain of rice or a drop of water. As her spirit spiraled downward into depression, immortality failed her. Time began to tug at her body, reminding her that her aging process had started. Her celestial power waned, thus forcing the Sun to shut down as a result. The eternal night plagued the human world. Yet again, aside from pitying the mortals, Yui hardly cared. In fact, had she had the strength, or the _opportunity_, to commit suicide, she would have. Izanagi-sama, perhaps able to sense her wish for death, had cast upon her a spell that would stop her from doing herself harm. Worse, he planted all sorts of listening devices in her room to make sure he could response in time to whatever Yui did. Sometimes, Yui didn't know whether the man cared about her well-being or that of the Sun. Izanagi-sama seemed to have given up, though, for several months had gone by since Yui saw him last. _

_"Amaterasu-nee-sama," a soft, emotionless voice said. "Would you just stop brooding and get on with your life?" Sei no Tsurugi no Rinne, in her white outfit and cloak, was looking at Yui coldly from the opened shoji door. The brilliant light from her eight wings, folded behind her back, banished the darkness from Yui's room in no time. It was as though a sun had just emerged. _

_"Go away," Yui sobbed, burying her face in the pillow. _

_"Akira is worried about you, you know," Rinne continued as though she had not heard. "You should at least let him speak with you." _

_"Get out!" Yui lifted her head from the pillow and shouted at the Seraphim Blade. "Who are you to come here and tell me what to do? You only cared about your precious Akira!" _

_"Not just Akira," Rinne continued, "but Kagutsuchi-nii-sama and Susanou-nii-sama as well. They are so concerned about your health that they too, have grown much thinner during the last several months. I know you miss Tsukiyomi-sama but this cannot go on any longer. Think of what would happen to your brothers should you die, nee-sama." _

_Yui threw a pillow at Rinne, which burst into flame and fell apart before it reached her face. The Seraphim Blade looked at Yui frostily, eyes narrowing, fists clenching, eight wings trembling behind her back. As far as Yui knew, _no one_ had ever dared do that to Rinne. _

"Leave, now!"_ Yui screamed. For a moment there, Yui thought the platinum-haired girl would march to her bed and haul her off the room by the scruff of her neck. She sure had the power to, now. Luckily, Rinne turned on her heel, slammed the door shut, and left without saying a word. _

_Yet, just as the Seraphim Blade's shadow vanished off Yui's door, another's arrived. Sliding the shoji door open in a rush, the twelve-year-old Susanou the God of Storms hurried in, shouting, "Wake up, Yui-nee-san! Wake up!" _

_The pillow flung from Yui's hand struck the kid on his chest. Staggering, Susanou grunted. _

_"Did they not tell you to kill the messenger, nee-san?" Susanou picked up the pillow and placed it on Yui's bed. He gave a start when Yui seized it with her hand and attempted to throw at him again. "Oy, oy! I have good news, really!" _

_"Unless it's news from Yue, I don't want to hear it!" _

_"Yes! It is!" The dark-haired kid beamed brightly. "Yue-nee-san has returned to us." _

_Yui leapt from the bed. Before Susanou had time to react, Yui was already standing in front of him, hands gripping his shoulder blades as tightly as possible. He grunted again, this time in a much louder voice. When he looked up at Yui's face, though, he broke into a warm smile that split his face apart. _

_"Are you… telling the truth?" trembling wildly, Yui asked. _

_"Yes." Susanou nodded. "Father brought her back from Reiha." _

_"He… did?" Releasing her brother, Yui clutched her mouth with her hands, trying to swallow a sob. Still, tears flowed uncontrollably down from her eyes. _

_"Yes." Although Susanou barely stood higher than Yui's waist, he hugged her tightly and murmured, "We know you have suffered… ever since Yue-nee-san went away… Yui-nee-san. We know you… missed her a lot. Now go to her." The kid seemed on the verge of tears, as his voice broke several times before he could finish what he was saying. _

_"Thank you, my dear brother," Yui cried, sinking to her feet and hugging the little boy as hard as she could without hurting him. "Thank you for letting me know." _

_"You are welcome, nee-san," Susanou said, untangling himself from Yui's grip. The young God of Storms then patted his small hand on her shoulder and smiled, his eyes shining with unshed tears. "Don't dally here anymore. Go see Yue-nee-san. She is in the Hall of the Morning Sky at the moment. Go." _

_Yui didn't really know how she got the strength for it, but she ran as fast as she could out of her room and into the hallway lit by electrical lanterns. Even though she tripped and fell on her stomach a few times before she could get to the Hall of the Morning Sky – where grand ceremonies were held in the presence of the most prominent Gods and Goddesses – the pain was barely noticeable, as endless waves of joy kept washing over her with every step she took. That blissful feeling increased ten-fold the moment she reached the arched entrance of the Hall, the opening behind the doors of which was bustling with people. _

_Noticing Yui's arrival, the Immortals quietly drew themselves back to form a clear path. As she passed them by, the High Immortals inclined their heads to show respect, some even smiled at her. Their acting was as abysmal as ever. Yui knew as well as anybody that the men and women in this Hall, most of them from the Celestial Assembly, didn't like her Father, or any of his siblings one bit. Yet, she forgot all about them as her eyes found the beautiful Goddess of the Moon, in her snow-white hagoromo, standing on the dais at the far side of the Hall. Next to her, upon the Throne of Heaven – a large armchair made entirely from precious gemstones – the Lord of Izumo sat, mouth moving as though speaking. When Yui heard what her Father said, she felt as though a steel hammer had slammed on her chest. Dizziness seized her. _

_"So, in this _joyous_ day," Izanagi-sama announced, his stone-cold face showing not _a scrap _of his proclaimed sentiment, "I hereby adopt Tsukiyomi, the Goddess of the Moon, as my daughter." He turned to Yue, dark eyes hard and harsh. Yue stared back at him in defiance, hands gripping at her clothes. The girl seemed ready to murder the Lord of Izumo. "I hope she knows how delighted I am to have her join my family." _

_As the Hall of the Morning Sky erupted into thunderous applauds and deafening cheers, a terrible chill gripped Yui's heart. Her head started to sway. Yue… adopted… by Izanagi-sama? What in goodness's name was happening here? _

_Rooted on the floor, Yui stood and watched the High Immortals approaching Izanagi-sama and Yue, shaking their hands, giving them congratulations that were as false as the smiles on the Gods and Goddesses' lips. The Lord of Heaven and the Goddess of the Moon didn't pay much effort to keep up the act, either. The lean, cold-faced man looked as though he wanted to crush the hand of whoever touched his while the silver-haired girl stared icy daggers at the people who attempted to shake hers. Yui couldn't comprehend this. Neither her Father nor Yue was happy about this whole adoption business. Then why the heck did they do it? _

_Suddenly, Yui noticed the High Immortals' withdrawal from the Hall of the Morning Sky, bowing away from Izanagi-sama's presence. The ceremony was at the end. Soon, not a soul was left inside the spacious chamber save Yui, Yue, and the Father of All, who peered at each other with various kinds of expressions. The Lord of Heaven's face became darker and angrier than ever, his eyes glaring at Yui with unspeakable hatred. The Goddess of the Moon, most astonishingly, was not any friendlier. Yui's heart sank. She wouldn't care in the least bit whether her Father liked her or not but… but... it hurt so much to be looked at that way by the one she loved. What happened to Yue after she was taken back to Reiha? Yui intended to find out. _

_"Yue-chan…" Yui began, moving toward the light of her heart. Her feet stopped, her tongue froze almost immediately after that, for Yue had flung a hand toward her, fingertips ablaze. _

_"One more step, and I shall kill you, Goddess of the Sun," Yue said coldly, silver eyes burning with an intense light. Yui had the feeling her heart just broke. _'Kill?' _Should that be the first thing the girl said to the one whom she lip-locked with several months ago? _

_"Now, now, Tsukiyomi," Izanagi-sama said, patting the silver-haired girl on the shoulder. "Do not treat your new sister that way." _

_Yue's hand landed on the man's face in a loud, painful slap. Yui stared in shock and incredulity at the blood trickling out from the corner of her Father's mouth, at the red, swollen handprint on his cheek. _'What the….'

_"That is not how a daughter treats her Father, either, girl," the Lord of Heaven said while wiping the blood away with a handkerchief taken from one of his inner pockets. Now that was even stranger. Knowing Izanagi-sama, whose temper was like the short fuse of a ton of fireworks waiting for a spark, Yui herself would never have gotten away with that slap without spending _a month _in the top-security prison of Izumo, if not a dozen. Yet from the look of it, the man never intended to hit the Goddess of the Moon back, much less locking her up in a cell. _

_"You know as well as I how much I want to stay away from that woman," Yue rounded on the Lord of Izumo, forefinger jabbing in Yui's direction. "Why did you make me her sister?" Nerve-wrecking pain grabbed Yui's heart. She staggered a few steps backwards. _'Stay away? That woman?' _What was the meaning of this? _

_"Yui-nee! Yui-nee! Are you alright?" Kagutsuchi's voice called. The young God of Fire and his brother, Susanou, were on Yui's either side, hand tugging at Yui's sleeves. _'When did they arrive?' _Yui thought dimly. _'How much have they heard?'

_"Nee-san, get a hold of yourself, nee-san!" Susanou said almost pleadingly. "Please, don't cry!" Only then did Yui realize that tears had once again streamed down her cheeks. The boy looked as if he would burst into tears, too. _

_"Because I want to make sure that no one gets what _I_ cannot," Izanagi said to Yue, his tone almost scathing. The silver-haired girl's lips compressed in a thin line, her whole body trembling in anger. Yui didn't get it. What in the world were they talking about? _

_"Suit yourself!" The eighteen-year-old Goddess of the Moon spun on her heel, gathered her snow-white hagoromo, and stalked out of the Hall of the Morning Sky, face a thunderhead. When she walked past Yui and her brothers, the girl gave her a disgusted look before she stormed away with an expression that spelled doom to anyone who happened to be in her path. _

_Yui sank to her knees on the floor, tongue stilled, soul devastated, brain dead. There could be no mistake. Yue… hated her. _

_"Nee-san!" Susanou screamed at the same time Kagutsuchi did. "Yui-nee!" _

_"I see that you have recovered, Amaterasu," the Lord of Heaven said quietly as he towered above Yui's head. "It is about time you do, of course. I expect the Sun to rise soon, do you hear me?" The man left the Hall of the Morning Sky without saying another word. Shortly afterwards, Yui passed out. _

…

On that fateful day, a new chapter of Yui's life started; a chapter that spanned three millennia, every day of which was written in the ink of tragedy. After that encounter in the Hall of the Morning Sky, Yue humiliated Yui publicly anytime she had onlookers. Those three thousand years had been so hard to live through that she herself was surprised that she survived afterwards. Still, she was glad she did; else she would not be sitting here right at this moment, holding in her arms the one she loved.

"Why are you crying, Yui-chan?" Yue asked, silver eyes locking at Yui's golden, voice anxious. The girl dabbed the bed linen with which she covered her naked body at Yui's face, gently drying off the hot tears that were staining Yui's cheeks. "What is wrong?"

"Nothing, Yue-chan," Yui said, taking her sweetheart's hand into hers and placed a kiss on its back. "Nothing. Don't worry."

"Do not lie to me." Yue glared at her. "Who would cry out of nothing?"

"I would." Yui pressed her lips onto Yue's, thus most effectively silenced her. The Goddess of the Moon struggled at first, trying to wriggle out of Yui's arms but she gave up on resisting altogether when Yui's hand slipped inside the silky cloth and placed itself upon the gentle swells of her chest. Without breaking the kiss, Yui gently laid the other girl on her back on the wooden floor and freed her from the bed linen wrapping around her body. At a snap of Yui's fingers, the shoji door drew shut.

A few hours later, maybe more, maybe less, Yui and Yue – sitting at each other's side, wrapped cozily in one another's arms and the thin bed linen – watched the sun rise through the opening of their room. With Yue's head on her shoulder, hand on the hollow of her waist, Yui beheld in amazement the wave of golden light that was swallowing up the forsaken land. The dawn had never seemed more breathtaking.

"Ne, Yue-chan?"

"Yes?"

"Let's go pay Chikane and Himeko a visit. I bet they'd want to talk to you again, too."

"Can we? Does my Mother's Treaty not forbid us from doing that?"

"Silly girl." Yui chuckled softly. "The Treaty only has binding effect on residents of Izumo, which we aren't anymore. We are exiled from Heaven eternally, remember? We can do anything we want to."

The dazzling face of the silver-haired girl broke into a whole-hearted smile. "Thank you," Yue whispered before she captured Yui's lips in a soul-searing kiss. It took them another while before they finally decided that they should depart to the Human World.

* * *

"I... don't think this is a good idea after all, Chikane-chan," mumbled Himemiya Chikane's sweetheart in a voice that was torn between frustration and regret. Kurusugawa Himeko, the former Priestess of the Sun and her beloved girlfriend, was sharing the same chair in front of a large desk in their room. In a white button shirt that left everything beneath her lower thighs bare, the golden-haired girl was sitting between Chikane's legs, the former's slim waist encircled by her loving arms, the shorter girl's right shoulder the place where she rested her chin, and the little angel's right cheek an inch away from her lips. Her sweetheart's body was softer than a feather-stuffed pillow, her skin beneath the thin fabric of the shirt was warmer than fire, and her hair, threads of spun gold, smelled better than most flowers. Her face, decorated by a pair of large amethyst eyes, a nose that looked just right, and a pair of delicate lips, was beautiful beyond words. 

"Why is it not?" Chikane murmured into the little angel's ears, her arms tightening around the latter's waist at the same time she pulled the girl a little closer against her chest. The golden-haired girl drew a sharp breath at the contact. The mechanical pencil, with which she had been working on her mathematics assignments, fell from her hand and rolled off to the upper right corner of the desk.

"That's why," the one she loved muttered as she turned her head and gave Chikane a rueful look. She was red all the way to her ears. "I think... I'll be okay now... so... why don't you continue reading your book, Chikane-chan?" Those words were so reluctant anyone would have thought that they had been pulled out of her mouth by a rope.

"Are you sure?" Chikane asked, smiling. "The rest of the assignments look quite difficult." An hour earlier, when the grandfather clock struck seven in the morning, she, in an identical button shirt, was reading a book on international marketing while her sweetheart wrestled with the mathematics homework. That had also been when the latter requested her help. She had gladly risen from one of the armchairs in the middle of the room then, and walked to the desk. There was no other movable chair, and the list of the problems seemed too long for her to remain standing, so she had asked whether she could sit down in the same chair as her beloved. Himeko, who had blinked as soon as heard, hesitated for a few seconds before she nodded shyly, stood up, waited for Chikane to be seated, before she gingerly settled herself between Chikane's legs.

From that moment onward, she had been helping her beautiful girlfriend solve the problems while placing her interlaced hands atop the latter's flat abdomen and hugging her tight. Although she could tell that Himeko loved having her so close, she also realized that the intimacy was causing some not-quite-unwanted side effects. Sometimes, the golden-haired girl would lose her focus, write things she did not mean to, or simply stare at Chikane instead of paying attention to what was being said. Despite having had to repeat her instructions more than twice, Chikane never felt irritated. Instead, she herself had blushed quite a few times beholding the unbelievably cute expression on her sweetheart's lovely face. It had taken her a great amount of willpower just to restrain herself from kissing the little angel for all she was worth. Both of them, neither appearing able to control the emotions in their hearts, had slowed the progress on the homework to a halt. That was the reason why the former Priestess of the Sun had requested that she move.

"Quite sure," she answered. "I think I can handle them on my own now." She did not sound half as certain, or firm, as her declaration suggested.

Chuckling softly, Chikane said, "Okay then." She waited several minutes before she reminded the golden-haired girl that with her sitting there, Chikane could not exactly do as she was asked. Blushing hotly, Himeko sprang to her feet and only sat down once Chikane had settled herself on an armchair in the middle of the room and taken up her reference book.

Himeko, despite having eliminated the source of distraction, only seemed more miserable. Deeply amused, Chikane watched from atop her thick leather-bound book as the other half of her existence shifted uncomfortably and continuously on the chair in front of the desk. Once every so often, she would steal a surreptitious glance in Chikane's direction, then blushed crimson when their gazes met. When that happened, the golden-haired girl would whip her head around, glued her shiny amethyst eyes upon the pages, scribbled something on her notebook, looked at Chikane again, and repeated the process. Her sweetheart amused her no end.

"Are you okay, Himeko?" she asked. It was certainly difficult to have her mirth reined in, she thought.

The little angel stared at her wordlessly, her eyes filled with despair, her lips thinned in desperation. After a while, she shook her head. "I think... it's... much worse than before," she professed, her complexion the color of a ripe tomato, "so... if it's not too much trouble with you... will you help me again, Chikane-chan?" Her hesitant and shy voice was the most beautiful melody she had ever heard. Her girlfriend made a nightingale sound like a crow.

"It is my pleasure," replied Chikane, who casually tossed away the book on international marketing, rose to her feet, walked to the desk, and resumed the position in which she sat before she was banished. The intimacy once again spread a wave of warmth across her body, the soft feel of her beloved's slender frame bringing boundless joy to her heart. Unable to control herself, she placed on the other girl's reddened cheek a soft peck, which quickly evolved to a passionate meeting of their lips. They shared a few more kisses, each a little more frantic and deeper than the last, before the former Priestess of the Sun pulled away reluctantly.

"I... should be doing homework," she whispered. Her delicate mouth, slightly opened as though inviting more kisses despite what she said, remained an inch away from Chikane's own.

"You should," she agreed. The tips of her right fore and middle fingers traced her sweet girlfriend's lips. Himeko kissed them lightly. "The sooner you finish it, the less I have to wait to give you a reward."

"Okay," murmured the little angel, who did not ask what kind of reward she might get in the end before focusing her attention on the homework. With Chikane's helpful hints – she was of the idea that solving everything for her girlfriend would do her no good – the golden-haired beauty completed her assignment in less than an hour.

"Finally." She put down her mechanical pencil, closed the notebook, heaved a deep sigh, and reclined against Chikane's front. She hugged the golden-haired beauty a little bit more tightly, her hands slipping under the fabric of the white button shirt and laced together atop her bare abdomen. It was smoother than silk, she thought. "So... what's my reward?" The cuddly girl in her arms turned her head and whispered into the crook of her neck. The little angel's hands left the surface of the desk and fell atop Chikane's own. Her voice was sultry, her breath warm enough to sear.

"A date with me," Chikane answered with a smile. "What would you say?"

She did not think that was what her lover had had in mind for a _"reward,"_ for the latter had blinked in evident surprise before her cheeks glowed very red even in the light of the sun. "That sounds fantastic," she said in the end in a voice racked with disappointment. Her girlfriend made a terrible liar, Chikane decided.

"I know what you were thinking, naughty Himeko," she whispered, her lips brushing affectionately upon the skin of the other girl's forehead. Her fingertips danced upon the sensitive skin of her flat tummy, making her laugh and squirm. "Is last night, or the night before that, not enough for you?" Fire raged on her own cheeks.

"I'm not going to comment on that," the former Priestess of the Sun mumbled, her amethyst eyes downcast, her hands fidgeting with one another atop her shapely thighs.

"Staying indoor all the times is not good for your health, Himeko," Chikane said. The fire burned more fiercely as the memories of their last two nights, fiery yet gentle and passionate, surfaced in her mind. For two days now, they had spent the majority of their time in this very room. They once in a while would watch TV together, they sometimes would read the same book, but mostly they stayed on the bed. There, they lay snugly in the curve of each other's loving arms, kissing, touching, and talking just about anything on Earth. Any topic would be pleasant in a conversation with Himeko, Chikane had found, especially when the girl she loved was looking at her intently and adoringly the whole time, drinking in her every word. "And it would give people the wrong impression should we continue to do so," she added, chuckling, and watched her sweetheart's embarrassment grew.

Yesterday, on their way to the dining hall for dinner, they had caught a pair of maids gossiping in a corner of the Himemiya Mansion. The two were wondering aloud how "Ojou-sama and Kurusugawa-sama have the energy to keep it up." Amused, she had laughed softly and startled the poor maids while the former Priestess of the Sun stood stiffly like a lamp post and looked as though she wanted to run back to their room to hide. It was more than just amusing.

"Besides, I have always wanted to be on a date with you, Himeko," she continued, her voice full of love. "Will you grant this selfish wish of mine?" It was the truth. Ever since she met the love of her life in the Garden of the Roses, she had been longing desperately for a chance to go out with the little angel and do the things that normal couples did when they were in love. It was rather disheartening that Oogami Souma, whom the golden-haired girl was never interested in, had two dates with her while Chikane, with whom she was madly in love, had none.

"I'd love to," Himeko replied, sounding as though she was touched by Chikane's heartfelt request, "but don't you remember, Chikane-chan? Your parents are coming home today. Shouldn't we stay home and wait for them?" The faint color that bloomed on her face suggested that she was not telling the whole truth.

"Their flight will not arrive until eight in the evening," Chikane said. "It is only nine in the morning now. We have time to spare."

"Okay then." Her sweetheart gave her a smile. She attempted to stand up, but Chikane's arms, remaining around her waist, prevented her from doing so. The little angel gave her a quizzical look.

"There is something I need to do before we leave," she announced in a seductive voice. Her hands unlaced. One of them glided upward over her sweetheart's silky skin until it arrived at her chest, covered only by the shirt's flimsy fabric. The other sank downward and slipped between her thighs. She gasped.

"But you said..." was all that Himeko could let out before she became putty in Chikane's tightening arms. Her breathing became erratic, her heart quickened, and her entire body grew hot.

"I did not say that we would leave immediately. I believe I also said we had time."

"You planned... this from the beginning," the former Priestess of the Sun muttered. "You were teasing me the whole time." She did not sound half as displeased as her words suggested.

"Correct."

"You meanie," she said, her face drawing closer toward Chikane's. Her lips opened. Her eyes closed. They never broke the kiss even when she carried the one she loved in her arms all the way to the bed. When they finally climbed into the limousine parked in front of the Mansion afterwards, her wristwatch was reading exactly twelve noon.

* * *

"What is the next item on the reports, Fuyura?" sitting on the armchair behind her large desk in her office, Izanami said while trying to reorganize the files in her computer. After a few futile attempts of deleting out-dated documents and creating new folders and directories, she gave up in an exasperated sigh. Book-keeping, electronic or no, was just not her strong point. Maybe she needed to let Fuyura at it for a while. The girl was good at this stuff. Once, Izanami had had the chance to look at her Chancellor's holographic monitor screen and be amazed at how cleanly and systematically organized her files were. 

Izanami chuckled in amusement. It just happened two days ago, actually, when Izanami accidentally erased a document she was viewing. Since it was a joint report from the _Landscape and Environment Bureau _andthe_ Soul Administration Bureau_, who were asking for larger shares of budgets in expanding the Heart of the Underworld due to the sudden rush of immigrants from Izumo to Reiha, it was extremely important and needed to be dealt with in a timely fashion. Of course, she could never ask the _Bureaus_ to send her that file again; they would fall over laughing to death. Who had ever heard of the head of a country being a failure when it came to electronics anyway? Which was why she had secretly snuck into Fuyura's office after purposely sending the girl out for an errand and attempted to retrieve that same file. She did, but she also came across something else that was definitely more interesting.

It turned out that Fuyura had a folder somewhere in her Virtual Drives, where she stashed pictures she had surreptitiously taken of _Izanami_. It had been very heart-warming and enjoyable going through them, watching herself in various expressions and poses in the pictures, although Fuyura certainly did not think that way. The girl had fainted dead once she had opened the door to her office and found her target of affection completely engrossed in browsing through her _'secret'_ folder. Once Fuyura had regained consciousness, she had literally shoved Izanami out of her office and declined any of Izanami's attempts to apologize. Even now, after Izanami had summoned the girl here and forced her to go through the daily reports, the young Chancellor still hid her face behind her PDA's holographic screen and avoided looking Izanami in the eye. The dark-haired girl… was just plain adorable.

"It seems that the coalition between the **_ISR_** **_Agents_** and the _Holy Messengers_ of Izumo have successfully restored order to the Human World, as the Treaty has specified, Izanami-sama," Fuyura muttered sullenly. She had not been very pleased receiving the order that she had better come into Izanami's office and do her duties or be dragged in by the scruff of her neck, by her own sister's hand. "With the assistance of the _Mirror of Life_, the memories of the Earthlings have been completely modified. And of course, no traces of destruction were left, thanks to the hardworking people in the _Landscape and Environment Bureau_."

"That is good then." Izanami nodded. "Remind me to give praises to the _Bureau_ and the _Agency_ later."

"As you wish, my Lady." Fuyura inclined her head in acquiescence. "If you have no further instruction for me…."

"I do, actually."

"What may it be, Izanami-sama?"

"I want you to get rid of _your collection_ as soon as you return to computer today." Izanami rose from her chair and walked toward the young Chancellor. The girl's face paled, her whole body starting to quiver in shock… and rage. "And I also want you to vacate your office immediately."

"Why?" Fuyura said, voice strained, fist clenched, shoulders shook. "Does that mean you want to deprive me of even the right to look at the one I love? Do you mean to fire me and chase me away from Reiha while you are at it, too?" A good many Immortals working for Izanami in Reiha, if not most, were afraid of voicing their thoughts and opinions even though sometimes she was the one who made mistakes. Tsukazaki Fuyura was _not_ among those. Being the straight arrow that she was, the girl would march into Izanami's office and said to her face what she had done wrong without a scrap of deference. A strange thing, that, for the girl's blood sister, Tsukazaki Haruhi herself, did not seem as keen in speaking out.

"No," Izanami said and leaned in. "There is no need for pictures when you can look at _me_ every single day, is there?" She kissed the girl. The young Chancellor stiffened visibly; yet a heartbeat later, she yielded beneath Izanami's lips and returned the kiss. As Fuyura's arms tightened around Izanami's back, the PDA in her hand fell and cracked open upon the floor.

Izanami once thought that she did not share her daughter's particular interest in women. It turned out she was wrong. Ever since she learned that Tsukazaki Fuyura harbored a deep crush on her, things had changed, and she found her fondness for the girl growing after every time they exchanged words. The young Chancellor was a brilliant and witty conversationalist – although her views on dealings with other people were a little bit on the extreme side – a very efficient employee, and the most lovable partner one could wish for in Izanami's opinion. She had no idea how she never noticed how _cute_ Fuyura was the moment the girl came to the Underworld.

"You have changed your mind?" Fuyura said breathlessly. When she confessed to Izanami a while ago, Izanami had turned her down with the excuse that she did not like the girl enough to take her for a lover. Fuyura had looked so crestfallen, so heartbroken at that time that right now, Izanami's chest hurt just from recalling it. She wondered how she could have been so cruel.

"Yes, Fuyura," Izanami said. "Was I too late?"

"You will never be late," Fuyura said, hugging Izanami more tightly. "Had you made me wait for another hundred years or even a thousand years, you will still never be late."

"Thank you," Izanami said, gently raking her fingers in her young subordinate's black, glossy hair.

"Then what is the deal with telling me to vacate my office?" The young Chancellor looked up at her. In love or not in love, the girl looked ready to give Izanami an earful should she be given the wrong answer. Izanami chuckled. She liked this kind of outspoken attitude.

"Because I cannot stand having you work in a different room," Izanami said. "From tomorrow onward, my office will also be yours. Of course, I will have a new working station brought in here for you, too."

"Do I get a raise in pay as well? Or a promotion?" Fuyura mumbled against Izanami's chest.

"I will think about the first one." Izanami smiled. "About the other, do not be greedy. You are already second in command. Unless you want to take over _my_ job."

"Don't want it," the young Chancellor murmured. "Too much work. Not that enviable."

"Very well." Izanami laughed softly, holding the girl closer.

"Izanami-sama?"

"Stop calling me with the honorific."

"It is not proper for one to address one's superior plainly by her name. It will cause dissension in ranks. You do not want that."

"It _is_ proper when we are alone, is it not?" Izanami said.

"Sure," Fuyura said after a while. "I… Izanami?"

"Yes?" Izanami smiled.

"Can I keep my picture collection?" the young Chancellor blushed faintly.

"Why?"

"I have been keeping them for so long that… I do not have the heart to erase them anymore." Fuyura mumbled softly.

"How long have you been gathering those?"

"Err…." The crimson color on the dark-haired girl's cheeks deepened. "Three thousand years and a half," she mumbled almost inaudibly. In other words, ever since the girl came to Reiha after she graduated from the Academy. Annoyance flashed across her lovely face as Izanami broke into laughter, though.

"Oh, really?" Izanami pinched her subordinate's cheek. "Why did you only confess to me a short while ago?"

"I did not have the courage, or the opportunity," Fuyura muttered. "That control freak Haruhi kept sticking to me and refused to leave me alone until she went off to Onogoro alone for that mission."

"I do not know whether I should thank her or punish her, now." Izanami laughed.

"Punish. Definitely punish. How about you demote her?" Fuyura asked hopefully. "Or maybe ground her in Reiha or forbid her from dating any man?"

"Do you not think such punishments will only give me _more_ chances to bother you and your… precious, little sister?" Tsukazaki Haruhi's voice said dryly from the door, which Izanami had no idea when it opened. Hastily, Fuyura scrambled away from Izanami's hold and stood stiffly a good arm's length away, face beet-red. She apparently was too busy avoiding looking at her elder sister that she forgot about her broken PDA lying on the carpeted floor.

"Forgive my _intrusion_, Izanami-sama," Haruhi bowed, hand on her heart. "I knocked, but no answer came." A knowing smile curved the girl's lips. "I would have left, but it is imperative that I speak with you."

"What is it?" Izanami said calmly while leaning against her desk. Tsukazaki Haruhi did not mention how long she had been standing at the door, listening to Izanami and Fuyura's love-love conversation. Well, not that it mattered anyway.

"A notice from the _Citadel_, my Lady," came the replied from her other Chancellor. "It was marked as urgent."

"Show me." Izanami frowned. She had not received anything from the _Citadel_ for as long as she could remember. Why now?

Holding the small, rectangular piece of platinum in her hand, Izanami let her mind delve into the thing and read it content. Then she put it on the table.

"I have personal business to attend to, so would you leave me on my own for now?" Izanami said quietly.

"As you command, my Lady," Haruhi and Fuyura said in unison and bowed to her.

"One moment, Fuyura," Izanami said when she saw the twin sisters start toward the door. "Come here." Fuyura blushed hotly as her sister held a hand over her mouth and laughed.

"Come to my quarters tonight. We will have dinner together," Izanami whispered into the young Chancellor's ear, bringing a brilliant smile to her lips. "Now go gather your belongings and ready to work here tomorrow."

"Yes, Izanami-sama," the girl whispered back. Then she kissed Izanami lightly on the lips and murmured, "See you later. Do not fall for other girls while I am not around, ne." Haruhi blinked in shock. Apparently, she had never seen her little sister acting so bold. Neither did Izanami. Not that she had any objection, of course.

Once the door had closed behind Izanami's young Chancellors, she sat down on her chair and opened a direct communication channel to Izanagi's study in Izumo.

"What?" the infuriating man demanded from the holographic screen, face darker than ever. He had not adapted very well with the lack of Tsukiyomi's presence in Izumo, it would seem. She would not say she sympathized with him in the least bit, though.

"Have you received the notice from the _Citadel_ as well?"

"Yes," Izanagi answered curtly.

"Why do you think _she_ wants to come here?" Izanami propped her elbows on the surface of the desk, worries clawing at her stomach.

"No idea," Izanagi actually sighed. "Why do you ask me anyway? Kristall Aria was _your _best friend before she ascended to the High Chronicler position, was she not?"

"True." Izanami nodded. "But we have not met ever since you and I were assigned to this Star System. We did not keep in touch either."

"Well, then probably she just wants to renew your _friendship_?"

"I hope so," Izanami said, ignoring the scorn in Izanagi's voice. "What do you want to do, now? Kristall is the _High Chronicler_, _Watcher of the Regents_, after all. We need to give her a grand welcome, or the Board of Regents will look down on us."

"Fine," Izanagi muttered. "Come to Izumo. We will start planning."

"Why not Reiha?" Izanami smiled. "It is quite pretty here, you know. Oh, forgive me. I forgot you hate the Sealing Field."

The creep favored her with a poisonous glare before he closed the communication channel.

Still, this was truly unusual for Kristall Aria – the Lady Aria, _High Chronicler of the Eons, Watcher of the Regents_, and personal Advisor to the _Empress _herself – to even want to travel to such a faraway and unknown System. She doubted all that Kristall wanted was the renewal of their friendship during their Academy years in the _Citadel_. Izanami raked her hair in puzzlement. Whatever her long time friend wished, the woman was going to cause trouble to Izanami for sure. Fuyura was _not_ going to like this.

* * *

"It looks like they aren't home, Yue-chan," Yui said, settling down on the king-sized bed. 

"You know," the Goddess of the Moon muttered, standing rigidly in the center of the spacious quarters, "you should not have opened that Dimensional Portal directly into Himeko and Chikane's room. You could have just come to the front door and ask for them."

"Oh come on, you act as though they are strangers." Yui laughed softly and let her body fall onto the firm mattress.

"Not that," the Goddess of the Moon said irritably, her hands clutching the front of her hagoromo as though trying to rip it off. Now this was strange. Annoyance was plain on the dazzling face of Yui's sweetheart, as expected from her tone, but there was something else, too. If Yui had to guess, it was relief. Yui was confused.

"Then what?"

"Have you no sense of privacy, Yui-chan?"

"What do you mean?" Yui asked curiously.

"What if we had walked in on them… doing _that_?" Yue muttered, face going red. "Would it not be _awkward_ for all of us?"

Yui burst into laughter.

"Did I say something funny?" The silver-haired girl narrowed her eyes dangerously.

"You pervert, Yue-chan." Yui wiped a tear from her eye, trying to suppress her mirth. It was difficult, really. "It's _midday_, for Heaven's sake. They couldn't have been going at it!"

The Goddess of the Moon opened her mouth as if attempting to protest and closed it firmly a second later, probably having realized that she was going to say something that a decent girl should not. Afterwards, she gave an exasperated sigh and sat down on the bed, slightly shaking her head. Yui had to try harder not to laugh. This was all too amusing.

"Where do you think they are?" Yue said.

"Not sure." Yui sat up straight, smiling at her sweetheart. "Maybe at an amusement park or somewhere, doing the typical dating lovey-dovey stuffs?"

"Bad timing on our part," Yue muttered. "And bad planning too. We should have given them a notice first."

"Yeah," Yui nodded. "What are we going to do now? Go looking for them?"

"No, let them have fun by themselves." Yue shook her head after she had shot Yui an annoyed look. "I do not think they would appreciate _anyone_ butting into their date. Would _you_?"

"Definitely not," Yui said.

"Let us return to the Shrine, then."

"What? Back to bed? Again? So soon?" Yui joked, feigning innocence at the Goddess of the Moon, who quivered as if struck. Yet, since spots of crimson were blooming fiercely on the silver-haired girl's cheeks while her lovely lips thinned sullenly in a straight line, perhaps Yui's guess was not that far away from its target.

"Let us leave a note here somewhere for them and return to the Shrine," Yue said finally. "We shall come visit them later."

"Sure."

The sound of a car stopping from outside the room reached Yui's ear, which inevitably lit a smile on her sweetheart's lips. The silver-haired girl walked to the window and peered downward.

"The children?" Yui asked. She knew the answer even before Yue opened her mouth and spoke, as the smile had slid off the girl's face almost an instant after she looked.

"No," Yue said. "It is their biological parents. Himemiya Kyou, Himemiya Kimika, a girl whose face I recognize but whose name I cannot recall…. I wonder who she is. Why are you frowning all of a sudden, Yui-chan?"

"I just sensed a gate-in signal," Yui said grimly, turning around. "Someone is coming here."

No sooner had she finished did silvery sparks emerging from thin air start to coalesce into an oval vertical disc of light. It was a Dimensional Portal. They both raised their hands, celestial powers on the verge of release. Nothing destructive, of course, for she suspected Chikane and Himeko wouldn't be very pleased to return to their room just to find a big mess. What she readied at her fingertips, perhaps as did Yue, was but a binding spell to restrain the newcomer should need arise. It never did. They lowered their guard as soon as they recognized Tsukazaki Haruhi's noble features.

"Praises be to your names, Goddesses of the Sun and Moon." The young Chancellor of Reiha gave them a solemn bow with hand on her heart.

"Haru-chan!" Yui laughed softly as she stepped forward and pulled the dark-haired girl into a warm hug.

"Yui-sama, how have you been doing?" Upon being released from Yui's arm, Haruhi smiled and said, managing even a little bit of fondness into her usually cold voice. "The _Rosenkyuu_ misses you." An amused smile curved her lips as her gaze traveled to the third girl in the room, Yue, who looked suspiciously like someone who had a bottleful of vinegar forced down her throat. "You too, of course, Tsukiyomi-sama." Haruhi made it sound as though an afterthought, probably on purpose.

"I am sure it does," Yue said in a strained voice and shot Yui a heated glare afterwards. Oh yeah, Yui forgot. The Goddess of the Moon got jealous fairly easily. All it took to ignite the flame inside her heart, all it took to raise a forest of thorns within her soul, was probably as simple as a _look_ at another woman. And Yui just gave Tsukazaki Haruhi a _hug_…. Yui swallowed. This was not going to be good…. She guessed she should put more distance between her and Haruhi. Yui stepped back. The glare cooled down somewhat. For some reason though, Yue looked awfully _cute_ when she was jealous….

"So, you came to see us, I guess?" Yui cleared her throat, wondering whether she should cut back on the _"Haru-chan"_ bit also.

"Yes, Izanami-sama wishes to meet with both of you, Yui-sama, Tsukiyomi-sama." The Chancellor nodded.

"Very well," Yui said. "Let's go see her, then."

The grip Yue placed on Yui's arm when they walked past the Portal Haruhi created was much firmer than usual, and the other girl was resting her head on Yui's shoulder, ebbing her body as close to Yui's as public decency permitted. It was as if the girl wanted to prove to Haruhi that _she_ was Yui's girlfriend. Yes, absolutely adorable indeed. Yui chuckled quietly to herself. Maybe she should try to make Yue jealous more often. Maybe Haruhi would even lend help.

* * *

"Danna-sama, Oku-sama," Kisaragi Otoha said, bowing deeply to the Master and Mistress of the Himemiya Mansion at the doorstep. "We welcome you back." Every manservant and maid in the Mansion, standing behind Otoha, echoed her in unison. 

"We are home, Otoha-san," Himemiya Kyou-sama said. Even at the age of fifty, the tall, lean twenty-ninth Leader of the ancient, utterly wealthy, and exceedingly powerful Himemiya Clan still managed to look not a day beyond thirty. Short and somewhat gray hair framed a face any woman would call pretty, yet a face no man would say soft. In his grave black suit and necktie, he was the very picture of formality, propriety, and willpower. Strict and quite unrelenting, the Master could make a stone weep if he tried hard enough. He became a totally different, if not opposite, man when it came to his beloved daughter, though. There had been times when Otoha thought that Ojou-sama could twiddle the man around her fingers.

"You have worked hard in our absence, Otoha-san, so I thank you." Himemiya Kimika-sama smiled and patted Otoha warmly on her shoulder. No older than the Master of the Himemiya Clan, yet appearing much younger, the Mistress was pretty in her well-cut dress and coat, undoubtedly made from the most expensive material and with the best hand. Yet, she in her finest dress, jewelry, and makeup would still pale beside her daughter in plain clothes. Well, that was hardly a surprise, actually. No one looked pretty compared to Himemiya Chikane-sama, of course.

"It is my pleasure and my honor, Oku-sama." Otoha gave another bow and motioned the servants to clear a path for the Master and the Mistress. Her breath caught when she straightened up and her eyes fell on the person standing behind Kyou-sama and Kimika-sama, though. It was a pretty girl roughly Chikane-sama's age whose long black hair was tied into a neat pony-tail hanging at her front, whose eyes sparkled emerald under the glorious sunlight, whose clothes were as colorful as any stage performer. She was Ojou-sama's distant cousin, _Himemiya… Kotone!_ What the heck was the brat doing here?

Quickly hiding her surprise, Otoha dismissed the other servants to their duties and fell in behind Kyou-sama and Kimika-sama as they walked into the Mansion.

"Our house is still as clean and tidy as always. Very well." Kyou-sama said to no one in particular, but Otoha knew that the compliment was for her.

"If I may ask, sir, why are you home so soon?" Otoha said. "We are not expecting your arrival until the evening."

"The business meeting was adjourned faster than we thought," Kimika-sama smiled and said. "So Kyou-chan and I decided that we would change the schedule and come back to Japan sooner. Besides, we miss Chikane dearly, you would understand."

"All is well with my wayward, stubborn, and disobedient daughter, I trust?" Kyou-sama laughed softly, sounding very fond.

"If you mean her health, Danna-sama," Otoha replied, "then all is well." Kyou-sama and Kimika-sama stopped abruptly and turned toward Otoha, worry plain on their faces. She almost smiled in satisfaction.

"Did something happen, Otoha-san?" Kimika-sama asked, anxiety racking her pretty voice. "Trouble?"

"Come to think of it, where is she?" Kyou-sama demanded, frowning. "Why did she not come to greet her parents?"

"Ojou-sama has gone to see a movie, sir, with her _girlfriend_." Otoha delivered that smoothly and levelly, with a distinct stress upon a certain word, despite the anger bubbling in her heart. She had not been pleased at all being told that Chikane-sama and Kurusugawa were going to see a movie… in a dimly lit theater… probably with very few people around… doing Heaven knew what. On a bright note, though, Kurusugawa Himeko was not going to enjoy this. Oh no, she wouldn't! Otoha cackled gleefully in her head.

"Oh, a girl friend?" Kimika-sama chortled in delight, totally missing the hidden meaning. Otoha almost _tsk'ed_ in irritation. "So my aloof daughter has finally made a friend? A movie, you say?" Kimika-sama turned to her husband and wrapped her arm around his, smiling brightly. "Is this not amazing, Kyou-chan?"

"Indeed." Himemiya Kyou-sama smiled indulgently. "It is good for her to leave the house once in a while. Her social skills would benefit, of course."

"So, who is this friend?" Kimika-sama asked, face still glowing with joy. "Why did Chikane not tell us about her?"

"Perhaps Ojou-sama thinks that it is not yet time for her _romantic interest_ to meet the parents, ma'am?" Otoha allowed. The effect was immediate, the blank stares she received from her Master and Mistress most fascinatingly satisfying. They finally understood,

"Oh I get it, a _girlfriend_." Himemiya Kotone chuckled softly. A glance over Otoha's shoulder showed her the sight of the brat, nodding to herself in somewhat of a delighted manner. If the girl was surprised, she did not give the smallest evidence that she was. "Took her long enough, I guess," Kotone continued in a small voice that perhaps was not meant to be heard. Otoha gave her a sharp look, which she completely ignored.

"How long… has _this_ gone on?" Kyou-sama said, his voice deadly quiet. Next to him, Kimika-sama stood, eyeballs almost trying to jump out of her sockets. Poor lady. She had spent hours after hours on a plane to come home and see her beloved daughter just to be greeted with this devastating news? Poor lady.

"I know nothing, Danna-sama," Otoha replied, "except for the fact that Kurusugawa Himeko-sama moved into Ojou-sama's room two days ago."

"_Kurusugawa Himeko, moved in, two days ago_," the Master of the Himemiya Mansion repeated flatly. "Very well, come with me to my study, Otoha-san. We need to talk." The twenty-ninth Leader of the Clan spun on his heel and strode forward, looking terribly angry and shocked. Kurusugawa would regret ever coming into the Himemiya princess's life after this, that Otoha was sure.

"My pleasure," Otoha said, trailing after her Master and Mistress. Himemiya Kotone, most surprisingly, followed suit. She seemed _eager_. Otoha wondered why. One would have thought that this news would not sit well with her, at all, considering how last year she just….

* * *

"Pick anything that you would like, Himeko," Himemiya Chikane told her sweetheart. They were standing in a large fashion store that was but a very small part in a gigantic complex owned by Himemiya International itself. In this shopping plaza located in Downtown Mahoroba, anything could be found, as long as they had the money to pay for what they needed. In this place, where the goods around the world were gathered, everything was priced high enough to make a king stare in disbelief. As far as she was concerned, it was not a problem. The plaza raked in such a humongous amount of profit every single week that they could probably feed every single homeless in the City for a month. She guessed it was because many powerful politicians, as well as filthy rich businessmen, chose Mahoroba, on the edge of the world, to live in. 

Be that as it might, right now, there was barely a soul in the Women's clothing department of this fashion store. The only person present aside from her and her sweetheart was a sale assistant, a young woman with a bright smile on her lips at any given time, who stood a few feet away, seemingly eager to help. If she noticed that Chikane and Himeko's affectionate and intimate behaviors suggested much more than close friendship between two girls, she did not show it. She was not aware that Chikane was the daughter of his Mightiness Himemiya Kyou, who owned the entire complex, though. If she did, she probably would have called every employee in this store out and had them lined up just so they could ask how they could serve Chikane's need. That she could do without.

"Are you sure I can?" the one she loved hesitated. Kurusugawa Himeko, her warm hand clasped with Chikane's own, was wearing a snowy long-sleeved blouse over a button shirt of the same color and a pair of tight black denim jeans that did more than just show the shape of her long and slender legs. Adorning her neck was a long red scarf that match the color of the tie with which she tied her beautiful golden hair. Although Chikane was wearing an almost identical set of outfit – her scarf was blue – she must admit that it looked much more becoming on her sweetheart's alluring frame.

"I mean, they seem so... costly..." the little angel continued. "And it's not really necessary that I have new clothes. You already had someone retrieve my belongings from the Dorm, didn't you?" In this reset world, the Orochi never existed, the Dark Sun never materialized, and Oogami Souma never attacked the Ototachibana Dorm, consequently destroying everything the little angel ever had

"Silly Himeko." Chikane laughed softly as she pulled the former Priestess of the Sun into her arms and placed a soft kiss on the shorter girl's forehead. The sale assistant, whose name tag read Kawasumi Noriko, did not even blink. The smile, which she had worn since the beginning, remained unwavering on her lips. Chikane was surprised. "Have you not realized why I brought you here?"

The golden-haired girl shook her head, puzzled.

"Tonight, my parents will be home," Chikane explained. "I want to show them that the person to whom I willingly gave my heart is the prettiest girl they have ever seen." Her girlfriend blushed hotly in the curves of her arms. "For that, I need you to be in clothes that do not suppress your beauty." Her right hand rose from the back of Himeko and placed itself on her reddened cheeks. "Besides, we are dining with the C.E.O. and C.F.O. of Himemiya International tonight. Your casual outfits will not suffice, I believe."

"But I don't have to buy them new," her sweetheart insisted. "I can just borrow some of yours."

"But they were used," she argued, amused. "You are my girlfriend. You deserve better than that."

The golden-haired girl's complexion was redder than ever. Chikane half-expected to see steam coming out from her ears. "What if... I tell you that... I'd love to wear them because... they're yours and you've worn them?" she mumbled in a voice barely audible as she attempted to hide her face by pressing it against Chikane's shoulder. The heat radiating from her skin was so strong it managed to penetrate two layers of Chikane's clothes and seeped into her flesh. It was most dizzying. It only made her want to press her lips against that of the former Priestess of the Sun and ignore the Kawasumi Noriko, who was acting as though what she was seeing was the most normal thing in the world.

"I would love to see them on you, too," she whispered, her heart pounding madly and wildly inside her chest, "but it would take time to make them fit you. That we do not have." Her hands lifted her beloved's beet-red face up so that they could look into each other's eyes. She kissed her on each cheek. They were practically on fire. "So please, do not worry much about the money and let me spoil you once in a while, ne?"

"You always spoil me," was what her sweetheart whispered in response before she added quietly, "But okay." She wrapped her arms around Chikane's back and hugged her tightly.

"Thank you." She offered the former Priestess of the Sun a happy smile as they reluctantly pulled apart.

"Would you mind helping me pick the clothes, Chikane-chan?" Himeko asked, both of her hands tenderly holding Chikane's right. "I'm not sure which would suit me."

"Your wish is my command," she answered.

Together, arm in arm, they began inspecting the aisles for something that would look good on her sweetheart. The first thing that caught the golden-haired girl's amethyst eyes was a crimson dress worn over a mannequin. Smiling inwardly, Chikane decided that her lover did have good taste no matter how hard she claimed otherwise. The dress's elegant design, intricately woven fabric, and exquisite texture clearly announced that its maker was the best of the best. If her father or mother, who had extremely expensive tastes and were almost impossible to please, laid their eyes on this surprisingly fine piece of work, they would say the same thing.

As it would turn out, the reason the former Priestess of the Sun chose it had nothing to do with its outstanding quality.

"You have... something like this, don't you, Chikane-chan?" Himeko asked, her amethyst eyes locked with Chikane's sapphire, her complexion bearing a color strikingly similar to that of the dress.

She blinked. "Do I?"

"I think... you do," the shorter girl murmured, her eyes downcast. "You... wore it during your performance in last year's piano recital. I... was there." She trembled slightly as though cold. Chikane had a feeling that she was not holding in her hand that of her love, but a piece of burning coal. She knew why.

"But that was more than eleven months ago," she said, her voice breathless. "How do you remember such a trivial detail from so far back?" The coal became molten lava. Except that even if it were, she would never stop holding it.

"Because it was you who wore it," the little angel confessed. "I probably won't remember it on anybody else."

"What color was it?" Chikane stepped a little bit closer and took her lover's vacant hand into hers. A fraction of an inch, maybe less, stood between her lips and Himeko's forehead, the latter's eyes intent on the carpeted floor.

"Indigo. You had a velvet choker of the same color too." Even her ears were red. "They looked very good on you."

"How about the violin recital two weeks after that?"

"A violet shoulderless one-piece," her sweetheart answered, her voice growing lower with every word. "You wore a diamond pendant on your neck."

"You were bedridden with a cold that evening, if my memories serve," she asked quietly. "How did you know?"

"They broadcasted the whole event the next day on television," the other girl replied, her voice equally quiet. She never lifted her amethyst gaze from the carpet, though. "I recorded it on tape. Mako-chan once asked me why I kept watching it. I couldn't tell her that I was missing you very much."

"You are such a sweet girl, Himeko," Chikane said, her hand cupping the former Priestess of the Sun's chin and lifted up with the gentleness one would employ to hold a fragile egg. Then she pressed her mouth against hers and kissed her as deeply and passionately as she could. She did not care whether everybody in the store was watching them through the security cameras. All she needed right at this moment was to relieve the overflowing emotions in her soul. She thought they would blow her up if she did not let them out.

"Thanks, I guess?" Himeko murmured afterwards as she rose on her toes, put her arms around Chikane's neck, and leaned in. She froze dead in her track, however, when the sound of a woman clearing her throat cut the air like a gunshot. Upon turning her head, Chikane saw Kawasumi Noriko standing at the far end of the aisle, a soft smile gracing her lips.

Letting out a choking sound from her throat, the golden-haired girl hastily withdrew her arms and turned her back toward the sale assistant, her face the color of a sunset. Although, were Chikane to guess, she would say that her sweet lover was more disappointed than embarrassed. The thought warmed her blood to near boiling.

"Is there anything I can help you with, ladies?" Kawasumi's smile broadened as she approached them. She stopped when she was about an arm's length away. A playful gleam danced in her amber eyes. The young woman was not exactly pretty, but her face was so friendly and warm that anyone would be able to relax in her presence.

"I do not think that there is," Chikane replied politely. "I thank you for your concern, in any case."

"My pleasure." The young woman inclined her head. "And if I may, I would like to commend you on choosing this dress." She gestured toward the piece of clothing adorning the headless mannequin. It made Chikane wonder how long the sale assistant had been here, and how much she had heard. "It was our pride to say that we have paid a great deal of money as well as effort to wrestle it from our competitors. Your... companion has excellent taste indeed."

"Um... thanks," mumbled the other half of her existence, who had yet to turn and face the person who had interrupted her kiss.

"Would you like to try it on, ma'am?" Kawasumi Noriko asked the little angel. "The changing room is down this aisle, to your immediate left." To Chikane's shock, the woman gave them a meaningful wink. "I assure you that since our store has impeccable respect for the law, we placed no camera in there to spy on our customers. No matter what my fellow employees wish." She coughed delicately into her hand. "Also, since none other has visited us since we opened earlier in the day, there is good reason for me to think that our changing room will be empty for quite a long time. I doubt anyone would mind... say... someone staying in there for more than a few minutes."

Chikane chuckled, finally realizing what the sale assistant was trying to imply. The one she loved seemed to, also, for she was ogling the young woman with wide-opened eyes.

"Your suggestion sounds fantastic," Chikane said with a smile. "I guess I will have my girlfriend try out the dress in there." The former Priestess of the Sun blushed at the word. Kawasumi Noriko's facial expression, on the other hand, never changed a hair. Chikane suspected that the woman had realized it earlier than she could have thought.

"Very well." She bowed to them. "I hope that you will bring it with you upon leaving our store. I believe that it would look wonderful on the one you love." After that, she spun on her heel and walked away. It was impossible for Chikane to see, but she believed that the smile was still lingering on the young woman's lips. She decided that she liked her and would seek to give her a promotion. With her people skill, Kawasumi Noriko surely deserved it.

"Shall we go, my love?" After taking the crimson gown from the mannequin, she folded it over one arm and extended the other toward the little angel, who appeared to be still shocked by the odd sale assistant.

"Um... okay." Himeko laid a hesitant hand on the crook of Chikane's arm. "But... we're not... doing anything in there... right?" The beautiful girl sounded only _half_ scandalized.

"Of course not!" She laughed. "I just wanted to spend a few minutes alone with you, as well as have you try on this fine dress. Afterwards, I will take you to a restaurant nearby. They serve delicious food. Or do you wish to go somewhere else?"

"No, no, I'd love to go wherever you want." Her sweetheart beamed up at her.

Together, they walked toward the changing room, where they spent the next fifteen minutes or so holding one another and sharing kisses that they knew would help temporarily ease their constant need for each other.

* * *

Himemiya Kotone, standing against a wall in her Uncle Kyou's study, quietly observed the Head Maid Kisaragi Otoha withdrawing, closing the door behind her with a small click. Kotone's lips curved into a little smile. The woman was hysterical, although no one would know that unless they looked into her eyes and discovered the gleeful gleam that appeared whenever she succeeded in landing a subtle blow at Kurusugawa Himeko's image with her ill-willed stories, which the Head Maid claimed absolutely correct. By the time the woman was done, Chikane's newfound lover had come out bearing a striking resemblance to a blood-sucking leech, only much more shameless and clingy. Otoha was good; Kotone had to give her that. She managed to splash a whole load of dirt onto Kurusugawa without dirtying herself, without even letting Kotone's Aunt and Uncle become aware of her _raging_ jealousy. The Head Maid was indeed… dangerous. 

Kotone chuckled softly. Chikane was going to have one hell of a time clearing her new love's name after this.

"This is… unthinkable!" Kotone's Uncle – lounging on the sofa in the center of the room, next to his wife – declared heatedly. "Unthinkable! We must break them up!"

"Kyou-chan, dear," Kimika said, hand on her husband's shoulder. "Calm down."

"How can I?" Kyou muttered. "We surely did not bring her up just so she could take another girl for her romantic interest!"

"Love is a strange thing, dear." Kotone's Aunt sighed. "Who are we to tell who she can fall in love with?"

"Not love!" The twenty-ninth leader of the Himemiya Clan slammed his hand upon the arm of the sofa. "She merely mistakes her affection for a friend for love, that is all! What does a seventeen-year-old know?" Kotone simply smiled and refrained from pointing out that Himemiya Kyou was barely older than his daughter was when he became infatuated with a certain someone. From the twinkle in her Aunt's eyes and the tightness around her mouth's corners, she was trying her best not to say the same thing. "It surely cannot be love!"

"What if it is?" Himemiya Kimika said gently.

"Even if it is, we still cannot allow it!" Kyou insisted. "Not with a questionable person like Kurusugawa Himeko. Otoha-san is a good judge of character. She cannot be wrong."

"What would you do it if Kurusugawa Himeko were _not_ a bad girl, Kyou-chan?" Kotone's Aunt said with a smile. She faltered a little bit at '_girl'_, though. Kotone wouldn't blame her. After all, all of this was just too much of a shock for a mother. Well, Himemiya Kimika was taking it better than most, Kotone supposed. Another woman in her place would be screaming hysterically, or drowning herself in denial like her husband was.

"Well, I…" Kyou muttered.

"Would you still want to separate them?"

"I really do not know, Kimika." Himemiya Kyou sighed.

"Say, Kyou-chan, why don't we wait to see this Kurusugawa Himeko first and then decide?"

A moment of silence passed before the man finally nodded.

"Okay."

None of them noticed then Kotone opened the door and left.

Treading in the hallway, Kotone smiled thoughtfully to herself. She only returned to Japan to see how Chikane, the only girl she had failed to win over, was doing; she never thought that she would learn that someone, another _girl_ at that, had managed to do what she herself could not. She wondered what this Kurusugawa Himeko looked like. Well, the Head Maid described her as a golden-haired milksop who did not look an inch above average but Kotone would buy none of that. Someone who had been chosen by Himemiya Chikane couldn't be _not_ pretty. After all, even Kotone herself was not good enough for the girl's taste.

* * *

"They are home, Kyou-chan," Himemiya Kimika told her husband. She was standing by the window of their study, looking down on the front yard where a black limousine just came to a stop, while her dear Kyou-chan was sitting on the couch, massaging his temple. "Come have a look." 

"Ah, sure," Kyou stood up, walked to Kimika's side, and peered through the opened glass window. His eyes widened slightly when he saw two girls emerging from inside the car.

Himemiya Chikane, their beloved daughter, was in a white, long-sleeved, and unbuttoned blouse worn over a shirt of the same color. On her neck, there was a blue scarf one end of which hung down her front, keeping her warm in the cold night of October. Instead of a skirt, which was usually the piece of clothing of her choice, she now donned a pair of casual, tight blue denim jeans that showed all too clearly the shape of her thighs. With a pair of sneakers adorning her feet, she looked like a boy, although she could never have passed as one with her slender figure, her glossy stream of long blue hair, her ample bosom, and her exceptionally beautiful face. Yet, if Kimika was surprised at her daughter's outfit, she was shocked by the child's whole-hearted laughter, loud enough to reach the second floor, where Kimika and her husband stood. As far as they were concerned, Himemiya Chikane had _never_ done that.

Chikane, since her childhood, had always been a quiet girl who rarely showed emotions. She might smile to Kyou and Kimika, she might chuckle at a joke they told, but she never laughed. She was now, to a girl hanging tightly on her arm, who wore the exact same outfit except for the red scarf around her neck. Kurusugawa Himeko, Kimika guessed that was the girl's name, with her cute face and long golden hair, seemed to be glowing like the stars up in the night sky while laughing along with Kimika's beloved daughter. Kimika gave her lips a thoughtful tap. No one could look at the two of them without thinking that they were perfectly made for each other. In fact, they complemented one another so well that they in their current clothes could probably best Kimika and her Kyou-chan on their wedding day. Strange to think that Kurusugawa Himeko matched their little princess better than any boy would….

"Our daughter seems so happy, Kimika," Kyou said quietly.

"She does," she agreed. "How regrettable that the one who makes her so is not us." Her husband let out a long sigh that was meant for an agreement.

Kimika and Kyou returned to the couch and waited. Otoha would bring words to Chikane that her parents were expecting her _alone_ in the study. The girl would come, soon.

Less than five minutes later, someone knocked on the door.

"Father, Mother, it is I," their daughter's voice said, sounding strangely collected. Well, maybe not strange at all. The daughter of the Himemiya, the ice princess who bent knee to none, was never frightened easily. There were times Kimika wondered how she and Kyou, both incredibly soft when dealing with Chikane, could bring her up to be such a strong girl.

"Come in," Kyou said.

The door swung open, admitting the blue-haired princess, whose face was set with determination. The girl knew why her parents awaited her here… and decided that she would beat them down with her will.

"Welcome home, Father, Mother," Chikane said, bowing deeply to them.

"Have a seat, daughter. This will not be short." Kimika's husband gestured toward the couch sitting opposite theirs, across the glass table.

Once the girl settled down – with the grace of a queen addressing a court of nobles she meant to squelch before they had the chance to rebel against her, Kimika had to say – Kimika spoke, "Tell us all about your girlfriend, will you? We would like to learn more about her."

Himemiya Kimika had never seen a more dazzling smile blooming on her daughter's lips.

* * *

During the three thousand years she had lived through, Yue never once thought that one day, she would catch her Mother, the ever graceful and unperturbed Izanami of the Underworld, smooching another woman on the lips. Neither did she imagine that the latter, who happened to be Tsukazaki Fuyura, the Chancellor serving under the Supreme Ruler of Reiha, would jump up from the former's laps and fell on her back on the ground. After the young woman had gotten back to her feet, with the help of a very concerned Izanami-sama, she had stormed out of the Office, mumbling in a frustrated voice whether _"the whole freaking _world_ is going to walk in on us"_. 

Yue finally understood why Tsukazaki Haruhi had specifically _emphasized_ that since the Mother was expecting Yue in the Office, there was _absolutely_ no need to knock on the door. The woman was lying through her teeth! She bloody knew that Izanami-sama was sharing a moment of intimacy with her other Chancellor in there! Yue should have known that something was very wrong when Tsukazaki Haruhi finished saying that, for Yui had looked at the woman in a very quizzical way and started to giggle softly as soon as Yue touched the door's handle. Had she stopped right there and knocked, perhaps she would not have been standing here, desperately wanting to find an excuse to leave.

"I thought you turned her down a while ago, Mother," Yue said in an attempt to break the awkwardness of the situation. She glared at Yui, who was still _giggling_ quietly next to her, though. What was so amusing about seeing her lover being made fun of anyway?

"Things happen, daughter," Izanami-sama, sitting on the chair behind her desk, answered, eyes sparkling with amusement. Unlike her young Chancellor, Izanami-sama never gave any indication that she was embarrassed. "But how do you know that?"

"Fuyura slipped when you sent her to me a while ago in Heaven," Yue answered, face growing hot as the image of Izanami-sama kissing Fuyura just popped up in her head. Yue had never seen her Mother or Tsukazaki Fuyura so happy, so dreamy, and so sweet _ever _before. She but wondered if she looked the same way in Yui's arms while tasting her lips. She suppressed a chuckle. _'Does bird fly?'_

"I see," Izanami-sama said simply.

"More importantly, Mother, why do you summon us here?" Yue hastily changed the topic. "Is there something urgent?"

"Ah, no." The Supreme Ruler of Reiha shook her head. "I only want to ask if you two have free time this Tuesday."

"We are, Mother," Yue said. "May I inquire as to why you asked?"

"An hour ago, a notice from far away came to me, saying that an old friend of mine is coming here for a visit," Izanami-sama answered. Yue lifted an eyebrow in surprise. Her Mother had an old friend? "I do not know how, but she is aware that I have a daughter. She requests that I bring you along to see her when she arrives. Would you both like to accompany me to the _Court of the Wishing Stars_, where Izanagi and I will receive her on Tuesday?"

"Of course we would like to," Yue said, inclining her head slightly in acquiescence.

"It sounds fun, Izanami-sama." Yui beamed brightly. Unlike Yue, the Goddess of the Sun threw all formality out the windows regardless of whom she was addressing. Well, it irked Yue somewhat but if the Mother was fine with it, she guessed there was no problem.

"You seem to have a question, daughter. What is it?" Izanami-sama looked at her.

"Nothing much, it is just that I never thought it possible that you had friends, Mother."

"Oh? Why is that, child?"

"Well, you see, I figured that since you and Izanagi-sama are the only two _Makers_ and all…." How the heck were the two people who created the Three Worlds System able to have long time friends?

"You never wondered where I came from, did you, Tsukiyomi?"

Yue shook her head apologetically. She was such a negligent daughter.

"I think we both took your and Izanagi-sama's existences for granted, Izanami-sama," Yui put in, smiling.

"Well, you two were just too busy dreaming about each other when you were young to have noticed that I was not born out of thin air, I would say." The Lady of Reiha chuckled quietly as she eyed Yue and Yui in amusement, which made them blush.

"We would be perfectly happy to hear more about your life story, Izanami-sama." The Goddess of the Sun smiled. "Wouldn't we, Yue-chan?"

"Uh… yes." Yue nodded.

"Probably later, children," the Mother said. "I have a few things to take care of." Her dark eyes flickered toward the other empty desk in the Office as her lips curved up in a soft smile. She cleared her throat afterwards, though, no doubt trying to hide the fact that she just spent the last second mooning over her lover. "The mountain of reports I have to read is a little bit of a bother, you see, not to count the fact that I must come to Izumo this evening to meet with the creep Izanagi so we can plan the Welcome Banquet for my friend at the _Court of the Wishing Stars_." Izanami-sama's face grew sour.

"If she is your friend, Mother, why is Izanagi-sama involved?" Yue asked, puzzled.

"I forgot to mention, child," the Lady of Reiha said grimly. "_Kristall Aria_, that is her name by the way, stands much higher than Izanagi and I in the hierarchy. In fact, she is the _second most_ powerful individual in the universe."

For the first time ever, Yue sensed apprehension in her Mother's voice.

* * *

"I think we should call it a day, Chikane," Himemiya Kyou raised his hand and said. "I am sure we can continue our conversation tomorrow." 

"Yes, Father," his daughter answered with an incline of her head.

"Dinner will be ready soon, so return to your room and have a rest until we call for you, dear." Himemiya Kimika, his beloved wife and faithful companion, smiled gently to their little princess.

"Yes, Mother." With that, the girl was gone. Her steps were much lighter than those with which she had arrived at this study, though. Her expression was much softer, too, no longer that of a warrior ready for a battle. Probably she thought she had won.

"What do you think about this Kurusugawa girl, dear?" Kimika turned to him and asked.

"I believe Otoha-san hates her with a passion, although I cannot comprehend why," Kyou said dryly. "In Chikane's eyes, the girl seems to be the most wonderful person on Earth."

"She was exaggerating, wasn't she?"

"Of course she was!" He muttered. "Anyone head over heels in love would! And we both know how Chikane is nuts about Kurusugawa Himeko."

"Do you know who she reminds me of?" Kimika chuckled.

"Who?"

"You, Kyou-chan!" His wife nudged him gently on the cheek. "She acted exactly the way you did when you were young!"

"I cannot recall," Kyou said defensively.

"I can." The chuckle became a soft laughter. "One day, when we went out for lunch with your friends from college, you spent the entire meal talking about me and how wonderful I was. It was really embarrassing, you understand, listening to my boyfriend _feverishly_ listing my good points."

"You never stopped me?"

"I did try," his wife said wryly. "You never noticed."

"Really." Kyou cleared his throat. Now was that not a disturbing image? He, the mighty Himemiya Kyou who stood on the same level as world leaders, acting like the giddy girl who just departed from this study? Disturbing… indeed.

"And have you any idea how similar their daily activities sound like ours during our honeymoon!"

If anything, Kimika only appeared deeply amused by this revelation. He… well… he was not sure he did not feel the same way about his daughter and her _girlfriend_. That word came a little bit easier in his mind now. Anyway… his wife did have a point. Staying in their room almost all the time, having breakfast in bed, eating dinner under flickering candlelight, wearing matching outfit, making out whenever a chance – or an empty corner – presented itself… those were what Kyou and Kimika used to do shortly after being wed. Embarrassing to think of at the moment, but extremely fun and romantic back in those days, of course.

Still, what shocked him the most was the fact that his daughter _cooked_ now. Their little ice princess – who had servants waiting at her beck and call, who could not tell a frying pan from a soup pot – actually _cooked_! According to what the girl briefly mentioned in passing – she mainly talked about her lover – Chikane spent two hours a day in the kitchen, learning how to make food from a very _weary_ chef. She made a mess more often than not, which amused her no end for some reason, but she had managed to fry eggs without making it seem like burnt-out coals afterwards. She was really proud of that, and very happy, too, when her lover told her that the dish tasted good. From what he could gather from the girl's story, Himemiya Chikane must have been beaming like a fool hearing the compliment. Another disturbing image….

"When are we going to meet Himeko?" Kimika touched his arm and asked. So they were on the first name basis now?

"You sound like an overly excited mother-in-law, Kimika," Kyou pointed out.

"So what?" His wife chuckled. "I really want to meet her. I do not care if she is a girl. Any person who can make our daughter this happy is a treasure. Should we call her here and have a little chat?"

"You will have your chance during dinner, dear," Kyou said dryly. "No need to scare the girl."

"Yes, you are right." Kimika beamed brightly.

An overly excited mother-in-law, no doubt. Well, he himself was very much looking forward to meet the girl, too. Although for a much different reason, he supposed.

* * *

"What did you talk about, Chikane-chan?" Himeko asked as soon as the blue-haired princess closed the door to their quarters. 

"I was badmouthing you to my parents, Himeko," Chikane-chan said, smiling as she sat down next to Himeko on the bed.

"Then, how badly do they think of me now?"

"They dislike you so much they hardly said a word to me." The Himemiya Ojou-sama laughed softly into Himeko's ears and gave her a light peck on the cheek.

"Oh really?" Himeko leaned over and rest her head on the other girl's shoulder.

"Yes really," Chikane-chan said, putting her hand on the hollow of Himeko's waist.

"You stayed there for more than an hour, talking behind my back," Himeko murmured. "I didn't know there were so many bad things about me."

"Yes, even I was amazed."

"Did you tell your parents how much of an idiot I am to have fallen in love with you, too?"

"I think my choice of word was _'lucky girl'_, not _'idiot'_, Himeko." They both laughed at that.

"I wonder how they'd act toward me when I meet them," Himeko said.

"You will know soon. We are going to have dinner with my parents after all."

"Is she going to be there, your cousin?" Himeko asked a little bit apprehensively.

"Probably yes." The blue-haired princess peered at her with a glint of amusement in her sapphire eyes. "Why? You dislike her?"

"No, I don't dislike her exactly." Himeko winced. "She just… made me feel very uneasy."

"Let me guess, Kotone flirted with you?" Chikane-chan said casually, which made Himeko give a small start.

Actually… Himemiya Kotone, a girl most would call pretty although she couldn't compare to the princess of the Himemiya, didn't _just_ flirt with Himeko. The girl bloody well tried to _seduce_ her! On the way back to her room alone, Himeko had unfortunately run into Himemiya Kotone, who asked in a drop-dead serious manner whether she would like to have a _private_ walk in the back garden and make themselves _comfortable, _preferably without clothes. Chikane-chan's cousin tended to let her hands wander, too. Thrice she had tried to touch Himeko in _weird_ places. Had Himeko not practically pushed the girl off of her and run back to her room, something really _bad_ would have happened, and being touched would have been the least of it. Himeko told her sweetheart as much.

"She did that, did she not?" The blue-haired princess sounded terribly amused.

"You're taking this really well, Chikane-chan," Himeko muttered. "I thought you'd be jealous."

"Why? Kotone may flirt to her heart's content, but I doubt you would look at her the way she wants you to." The Himemiya Ojou-sama smiled, her hand caressing Himeko's cheek. "I know you are madly in love with me."

Himeko blushed.

"It must have shocked her to the base of her foundation, in any case." Chikane-chan laughed quietly. "Girls seldom say '_No'_ to Himemiya Kotone, you understand. When she asks, almost every girl would gladly climb into her bed even if they are nuts about boys before they meet her."

"Did _you_?"

"I think Kotone told me I was the first one to decline her forceful _offer_," the Himemiya princess said, winking at Himeko. "That only made her try harder, of course. She never succeeds, mind you."

"Why?" Himeko asked curiously.

"Because she only started hitting on me last year, shortly after I met you in the Rose Garden." Chikane-chan tapped her finger on Himeko's nose in a teasingly gentle way. "You see; I was hardly vulnerable to Kotone's advances when I was already in love with a much prettier and cuter girl."

"Flattery will get you nowhere with me," Himeko mumbled, her face growing hot.

"I only tell the truth as it is." The Himemiya Ojou-sama chuckled. "Besides, Kotone must have thought the same way about you. She only dates beautiful girls; I will have you know that." She gently held Himeko's face with her hands and kissed her on the lips.

"Do your parents know about her uh… interest in girls?"

"Even Kotone's own parents are not aware, Himeko." The other girl chuckled softly. "She keeps it hidden well. But enough about my cousin, really."

"Hey, what're you doing?" Himeko squeaked as the blue-haired princess scooped her into her arms and rose to her feet.

"We cannot exactly come to dinner with my parents without taking a shower first now can we?" Chikane-chan smiled, amused. "We have been running around since the morning, in case you have not noticed."

"But we'll be late," Himeko mumbled against her lover's chest.

"I am sure we will not," the blue-haired princess assured Himeko, her sapphire eyes twinkling under the fluorescent light of their private bathroom. She was right; they were in time afterwards… but only barely even though the servant came to knock on their door and announced that dinner was ready an hour after they lost themselves in each other's embrace under the sprays of the showerhead.

* * *

For Himemiya Kimika, this was a rather… exciting yet extremely uncomfortable experience. She had looked forward to talking to Kurusugawa Himeko, her daughter's girlfriend, so much that the moment the two girls entered the dining hall, she had immediately asked that Himeko be seated at her side at the table. Both Chikane and Himeko had given a small start right after she finished saying that. She really could not tell what had startled them more, the unusual request, or the eagerness of her voice. 

Of course, the golden-haired girl could not refuse – judging by the reluctant expression on her face, she clearly wished she could – so she meekly settled herself upon the high-backed chair next to Kimika's. Kurusugawa Himeko, in a red velvet dress baring her slender shoulders, with a ruby pendant adorning her neck, was definitely prettier than most girls her age. Some would even call her beautiful, although in a very different way from Kimika's daughter, she supposed. Others might be enthralled by Chikane's cool and gorgeous appearance but Kimika knew that most of them were terribly afraid of the girl's unnerving sapphire gaze, which seemed more than capable of punching holes through a steel wall. Kurusugawa Himeko, on the other hand, looked so adorable that people just wanted to pull her into a hug.

Kimika almost scratched her head in puzzlement. Why in Heaven's name could the Head Maid Kisaragi Otoha have born such a grudge against such a cute little girl? Even now, the young woman, standing behind Himemiya Kyou's chair at the head of the table along with other maids, were _still_ throwing pointed looks at the golden-haired girl as though they were sworn enemies. When Kimika listened to Otoha's stories about how much of a freeloader and a vermin Himeko was, she already had an inkling not even twenty percent of them was truth. Now, she doubted _any_ of them was.

Well, Kimika being uncomfortable had nothing to do with the Head Maid's hostile mood, however. In fact, if Otoha snatched one of the silver knives on the table and started to go after Himeko's life, she still would not be able to unsettle Kimika more than the gloomy gaze her daughter – in the same outfit as that of her girlfriend, only with the color blue – was sending her from across the table. The blue-haired girl's expression strangely resembled that of her husband a few years back when he had to go see the dentist due to teeth problem – which he dreaded every step of the way. No doubt Chikane wished to be the one in Kimika's seat, next to her girlfriend. In the beginning, she had tried to sit next to Himeko, on the same side of the table as Kimika of course, but she failed, for Kyou told her that he wanted her next to him so they could talk. For some reason, the little princess directed all her irritation at Kimika instead of her Father, which made absolutely no sense.

Realizing that twenty minutes had passed in dead silence, with Chikane trying to murder her filet mignon with her fork and knife while everyone else chewing theirs tastelessly, Kimika decided to speak. After all, that was what she came here to do.

"I do realize that this is our first meeting." She turned to the golden-haired girl, smiling gently. "But would you mind if I address you as Himeko?"

"Oh, no, not at all." Chikane's girlfriend gave a nervous smile after a frantic shake of her head.

"So, Himeko, what do you think of our Head Chef's skill?"

"I think he's great… um… Himemiya-san," Kurusugawa Himeko answered timidly. Her compliment was certainly at odds with the food on her dish, which she barely touched at all. Kimika would not blame her, though. Any other girl in her place would not have much of an appetite either when sitting at the same table with the parents of the one she loved.

"Just _Kimika_ is fine, child," Kimika said. Somewhere in the background, she heard the sound of a china dish crashing into the tiled floor. Turning her head, Kimika saw a mess of broken shards and food near the Head Maid's feet, showing her exactly who it was that dropped the thing. It seemed Otoha was handling – well, trying to handle – a dish when Kimika asked Himeko to address her by her first name. Perhaps the young woman never expected her Mistress to permit such intimacy from someone whose image she tried her best to smear earlier in the afternoon. Perhaps.

Kisaragi Otoha was not the only one surprised, though. Chikane was, too, before she managed to mask the shock. Kimika's husband, well… he merely smiled. The man saw it coming and certainly had no qualm about demonstrating his knowledge. In fact, he had always claimed that he could predict whatever Kimika was about to do. Well, he would be surprised.

"Why are you so silent?" Kimika chuckled after another moment of absolutely no sounds. "If you wish to call me _Kimika-chan_, I have no problem with it either." Another dish crashed. Otoha looked sickened to the core. Chikane and her Father were so stunned that they failed to notice the knives and the forks had dropped from their hands onto the table. Kimika rewarded herself with a satisfied grin.

"Oh, no!" Himeko said hastily. "I can't do that!"

"Why not?" Kimika said, amused. "My daughter informed me that you called her Chikane-chan on the day you two first met. I see nothing wrong with doing the same with my name."

"But you're Chikane-chan's _mom_!" Himeko protested. Before she could say any further, Kimika cut in.

"Does that mean you think I am too old to be called that way?" She feigned a long, saddened sigh. She even pressed the back of her right hand against her temple for dramatic effect. "You must forgive me, Himeko. Sometimes I fall under the illusion that time still has mercy on me." Too bad her acting skill was not so good that she could cry anytime she wanted. A glance out of her eyes' corners showed her husband hiding his mouth in his wine glass, his shoulder trembling slightly in mirth. Chikane, on the other hand, was looking mightily anxious, probably worried to death. Yes, no wonder they said that a woman in love was as good as blind.

"You're not old… Kimika… chan," Himeko said after a while.

"Would you be more careful with the dishes, Otoha-san?" Kyou said, annoyed. "You almost splashed all that food on my face."

"Really, Himeko?" Ignoring the Head Maid's frantic apologies in the background, Kimika beamed at the golden-haired girl, who smiled back at her awkwardly. Kimika bet Himeko had never encountered any parent like her. Well, even her beloved Kyou-chan sometimes accused her of acting more like Chikane's friend than her mother. It was a severe case of a pot calling a kettle black, seriously. He was the one to talk when he melted like a candle under a flame every time he hugged the kid.

"Yeah." Her daughter's girlfriend nodded most emphatically. "You'll look like my sister if we go out together. Really!" If those words came from the mouth of anybody else, they would seem fake. From Himeko's, they sounded perfectly honest and heartfelt. For the first time after so many years of hearing compliments from her business partners, Kimika actually felt flattered.

"Mother." Chikane coughed. "If I did not know you better, I would think that you were trying to seduce _my_ girlfriend."

"Quiet, daughter," Kimika shushed her little princess. "Your father is right _here_." The table erupted. All but Otoha and the maids were seized with laughter. The maids were trying their best not to, though.

"Seducing aside, why is Kotone not having dinner with us?" Chikane said, finally offering Kimika a smile. "I do wish to introduce Himeko to her _properly_." The golden-haired girl, face suddenly flushed with a dark crimson color, made a choking sound in her throat. Kimika hoped she was okay.

"She said she was not feeling well," Kimika turned to her daughter and answered. "She requested that food be brought to her in her room. I wonder if I should give Katou-sense a call and asked her to come see the poor kid."

"You should not worry about Kotone, Mother," Chikane said, her voice brimming with hilarity. The girl even gave Himeko a wink, which was returned with a small, nervous laughter. "I am sure she will get over her _shock_ soon enough." Kimika blinked. Now what was that supposed to mean?

"Anyway." She cleared her throat. "Tomorrow is Sunday. Would you two like to accompany me in a trip around Mahoroba? It has been a while since I did that."

"It seems a great idea, Kimika," Kyou said suddenly. "You should take Chikane and Kotone with you." She could almost feel the golden-haired girl freeze dead when she did not hear her name mentioned.

"What about Himeko, Father?" Chikane narrowed her eyes slightly.

"She would stay home with me, evidently," Kyou said. "I would like to have a chat with her." He turned to Himeko, face by no means soft. "You would not mind, of course, Kurusugawa-san?"

"Of course not." The golden-haired girl shook her head but according to her face, pale as a blank sheet of paper, she would rather have nodded. Chikane did not look any better, either. Kimika did not doubt both of them would spend the whole night practicing questions and answers in preparation for the confrontation with Kyou tomorrow. She chuckled. No, she would not let that happen. In fact, she was going to make Chikane spend the night with her under the obvious pretense of "wanting to catch up". If Himeko was going to talk to Kimika's husband, she had better go to him as her own person, not a parrot taught to answer questions by her girlfriend. Kyou would not appreciate that.

* * *

The morning after, Himemiya Kyou sat on one of the couches in his study, peering at Kurusugawa Himeko, who sat opposite him in another couch, appearing a wreck of nerves. Kyou suspected that if anyone tried to touch her, she would scream and jump off her seat. Well, he guessed he was rather intimidating for her. 

"Would you care for a cup of tea, Kurusugawa-san?" Unlike his beloved wife, he had no intention of calling the girl by her first name at this moment. "Or if you would tell me what you like, I will ask Otoha-san to prepare it right away."

"Tea's fine, Himemiya-san," the golden-haired girl answered. After she had received a cup of black Oolong tea, she took a small sip. She winced slightly afterwards, undoubtedly unused to the bitter taste of the black liquid inside. Well, not that he expected her to appreciate the exquisiteness of the finest Oolong tea brought straight from China, though. Young people nowadays seemed to preferred beer or wine whether they were old enough to drink or not. He but wondered if Kurusugawa Himeko was one of these. He guessed he was going to find out soon.

"Chikane mentioned to me that you moved to Mahoroba only recently, correct?" he asked.

"Yes," the girl said. "My aunt and uncle in Tokyo sent me here to study."

"Aunt and uncle?"

"Ah, my parents passed away when I was little because of a plague, so I had been living with the family of my father's elder brother until last year."

"I am sorry to hear that, Kurusugawa-san."

"It's alright, sir." The golden-haired girl smiled a little.

"Forgive me if I sound rude, but according to what I gathered from my daughter, I understand that you have been having financial problems?"

Actually, Chikane spoke of no such things except one little detail that Kurusugawa Himeko had labored two months in a local restaurant to make enough money to buy Chikane the sapphire ring she now wore on her ring finger. Even though Kyou's daughter could have bought _a dozen of them_ with the allowance provided each _week_, she treasured the present more than anything her parents could give. _Anyone_ would realize that were they to see the affection in the little princess's eyes whenever she touched the sapphire ring. As a father who showered his daughter with gifts more often than not, Kyou was not quite pleased upon learning that.

"You can say that." A faint color crept onto the girl's cheeks.

"Then I believe you would appreciate this," Kyou said while taking a rectangular piece of paper out from his pocket. Himeko's amethyst eyes widened in shock when Kyou put the thing on the table that stood between their couches. It was a check, which would make the girl twenty million yen richer once she deposited it into her bank account.

"What… do you… mean by this, Himemiya-san?" Himeko's voice was trembling.

"Do you wish for more? I can double that amount any time."

"I'm not sure… I understand." Himeko looked at him, her face bloodless.

"You do. You are smarter than you let on, you know that." Kyou chuckled. "But if you like me to be more… direct, I will gladly comply. Here me well, kiddo. I will double this amount of money, tripling even, if you promise me you will leave Mahoroba and never return."

"You are… bribing me to leave Chikane-chan forever?"

"Exactly!" Kyou laughed. "So, what say you? Do we have a deal?"

"I can't accept it," Kurusugawa Himeko said, pushing the check toward Kyou's end of the table. "I won't accept it."

"Why not? I thought money was what you were looking for when you befriended my daughter." Kyou propped his elbow on the arm of the couch and put the side of his face against his fist, coldly studying the golden-haired girl sitting opposite him, who seemed to be on the verge of tears. Girls. They always cried so easily.

"I… I… didn't become Chikane-chan's friend for her money," Himeko said, hands trembling on her laps, eyes focusing on the carpeted floor, voice shaking wildly. "I didn't fall in love with her because I wanted twenty million yen." The last few words came out along with a painful sob.

"You sure are greedy. Very well then. How about two _hundred_ million yen? Should be enough for you to spend your whole life."

"Even if you… give me everything you have, Himemiya-san, I still won't accept it." Kurusugawa Himeko shook her head hard.

"Let me guess, because you love her?" Kyou rose to his feet and walked to the large French window, from where he peered down at the front yard of the Himemiya Mansion. His voice grew cold. "Do you not realize that you are a threat to her future?"

The golden-hared girl said nothing as tears silently streamed down her cheeks. Of course, she never thought that someone who spent the last evening eating at the same table, laughing at the same joke could be so terrifyingly cruel. Well, many of his business partners should be wondering about that, too.

"You would understand, Kurusugawa-san that we brought up Chikane to be the heiress of the empire we have spent our life to maintain," Kyou continued, back leaning against the wall. "It is our duty to see that she inherits it without encountering any _obstacle_ on her way." A glance in Himeko's direction told the girl exactly whom he referred to with a certain word.

"Why am I… an obstacle?" she said, voice tight.

"Because the world we are living now has not been able to comprehend the love two girls may share with one another. It is harsh, discriminating, and homophobic, especially in the business aspect." He looked straight at the young girl in the eyes, making sure his words were driven home. "Let us take Himemiya International for an example. True, the Himemiya Clan founded the company, yet a large portion of the power rests in the hands of the investors, represented by the Board of Executives. Imagine what would happen should I tell those crippled, old-fashioned, ancient men and women that the future C.E.O. of the company has a girl for her lover? They would withdraw their investments on the spot, causing the immediate collapse of Himemiya International and spelling doom for Chikane's future. That is why if you sincerely love her, please leave her for her own good."

Kyou had thought that such a reasonable, nicely delivered speech would have made Kurusugawa Himeko keep silent and start thinking. He was wrong. The girl had opened her mouth as soon as he finished.

"I can't," she said determinedly while scrubbing at the tears on her face with her long shirt sleeves. Her breath was still uneven from all the crying.

"Why is that?" Kyou narrowed his eyes dangerously at the golden-haired girl.

"Because no matter where I go, she will find me," Himeko said quietly, both of her hands on her heart. Her expression became distant as the fingers of her right hand started to caress the little finger of her left. Kyou frowned. His daughter did that last night, too, although apparently without knowing that she was doing it. He wondered why.

"Once you tell her that you do not love her anymore, she will not look for you when you leave," Kyou suggested.

"Even if I can make myself tell her that lie, I still won't." The golden-haired girl shook her head. "Chikane-chan said that the day I stop loving her will be the day she cut open her wrist."

"You do not seriously believe her, do you?" Kyou scoffed derisively.

"I do." Her gaze met his firmly. "Because it's something _I'd_ do. I live for her, and she for me. We'd die before we abandon each other." There was no hesitation in those lovely amethyst eyes, not even a scrap of diffidence. There was only strength and the determination of someone who knew exactly what she wanted and would pay any price to get it. She reminded him of Kimika somehow.

In any case, the girl was right about what she said. When his little daughter talked to Kyou and Kimika the night before, she came very close to saying right out that the two of them were so deeply in love that no method could be employed to separate them short of killing either. Kyou was under the impression that should he somehow manage to eliminate Kurusugawa Himeko, his daughter would not survive the girl a week, if not _an hour_. It was startling, really, how his ice block of a daughter could grow to love someone so much. And he used to be afraid that she would remain single for the rest of her life. How stupid he was.

"Very well," Kyou said with a sigh as he seated himself back on the couch. Then he picked up the check and tore it into pieces. Meanwhile, Kurusugawa Himeko only watched him curiously, maybe wondering what he was going to do next. "You leave me no choice but to disown my daughter." He shot Kurusugawa Himeko an accusing look.

"Why?" Himeko gave a start. Tears welled up in her amethyst eyes once more.

"I have to demonstrate to the Board of Executives that no heir of Himemiya International will do what society does not permit," Kyou said, his voice cold and harsh. "I must convince them that their moral beliefs would never be betrayed by the members of the Clan. Before the run rises tomorrow, I will see to it that both of you leave the Mansion."

Time had passed in silence for several minutes before the young girl decided to speak. "I guess it can't be helped. We'll try to pack as fast as we can."

"You two are not allowed to take anything from this house except Chikane's clothing," Kyou said, his tone growing grimmer with every word. "Should you dare take a _yen_ from this house, you will be delivered to the police. Thanks to you, Chikane will have the chance to live the life of a lowly commoner."

"We don't mind," Himeko answered. If those hard words managed to offend her, she did not show it.

"Be aware that once Chikane steps out of this house, she will become a burden which you will break your back carrying. She has almost no social skills, and would most likely try to bully people into doing what she wants them to. It works when she has the power, but without the Himemiya Clan's support, she will get herself into deep troubles."

"Chikane-chan does that, doesn't she?" To his astonishment, Kurusugawa Himeko smiled softly, almost to herself. "I suppose I have to talk to her about that." She sounded… quite fond … and amused by the fact. "She does almost everything I ask her to, so probably I can manage to make her change a little bit."

"In case you do not sense the gravity of the problem, I will spell it out for you," Kyou said coldly. "Himemiya Chikane is a girl who is used to luxury. She knows neither the importance of money nor how to earn it. Given her temperament and lack of experience, she would be fired from a job as soon as get it. Being a high school girl, there is no way you can support her and yourself. Compared to having her clinging to you like chunk of rock to your foot when you are swimming, you would be better off by yourself. Even if you do not care for _her_ future, at least think of _your own_. Life would be much sweeter and more enjoyable, I would say."

"Chikane-chan is my future," the golden-haired girl said quietly. "She's my life. I never think of her as a burden, and never will."

"Oh, what is this?" Kyou looked at Kurusugawa Himeko intensely. "Such confidence. Can't you see that you may not find a shelter after you walk out of my door, being the poor high schooler that you are?"

"I don't have much, but I have enough to rent an apartment for the two of us," the girl said. "I've been saving ever since I came to live with my aunt and uncle. If we spend carefully, the money in my bank account can cover us for the first few months."

"After that?"

"I think I would have found a job by then. If I work really hard, I'm sure can keep both of us alive." Kurusugawa Himeko's voice was tinged with worry and somewhat of uncertainty, yet dominating them was a very strong determination rarely seen in youngsters these days.

"Are you going to be a high school dropout?"

"I'm... not really sure myself." Himeko blushed. "I... well, um… I don't do well in class and I don't love it exactly, but I'm going to try to stay in school." Something told Kyou that maybe the first thing the girl did would be quitting school and finding a full-time job. "I'll make sure Chikane-chan does, though!" She beamed brightly.

"Why?"

"Because you know, ne," Himeko said, sounding proud all of a sudden. "Tokyo University has offered her a scholarship. One she is done with high school, she can come straight to the capital and study, all living expense and tuition paid by the university itself. Chikane-chan told me she was going to be majored in music there, that when she graduated, she would like to become a composer. I'm sure she will. She has the talents, don't you think, Himemiya-san?"

"I notice that you never mentioned about Chikane working before graduation from university. You are not going to let her work?"

"If she can find a job, it'll be wonderful," the girl said with a smile. "But I'm not going to press her."

"Why? Her getting a job would certainly help lift your financial burden."

"Well, um, you see, Himemiya-san," Himeko hesitated, face coloring again. "It's like what you said earlier. It's way too dangerous for Chikane-chan to go out to the world the way she is now. I know she has to sooner or later but I'll feel a lot safer if she stays home and concentrates on studying."

"In other words, you are going to spoil my daughter rotten, correct?" Kyou chuckled quietly, amused.

"Um, yeah." She nodded, face redder than ever. "She spoils me all the times, though, so I guess that'll make us even." Suddenly, the girl blinked and gave a start. She probably just realized that the atmosphere between them had changed.

"You seem to know exactly what to do with your future." Kyou nodded to himself. "It is rare for one so young."

"Actually, I didn't give it much thought until two days ago," Himeko said timidly. "Chikane-chan and I weren't… together before that. Only after I moved in with her did we have time to talk."

"I find it surprising, still. Youth these days seem to be… reluctant when it comes to discussing their future with their partners. They would most likely want to have fun and forget about it."

"Well, Chikane-chan and I love to talk to each other, and it happened that I was uneasy about what was going to happen to us when you came home, Himemiya-san." The girl smiled ruefully.

"So you expected that I was going to kick you out in the first place." Kyou laughed.

"I'm sorry," the girl said frantically, trying to get her words out in a rush. "I don't think that you're mean or anything. It's just that I'm…."

"No need to say more, child." Kyou smiled gently at Kurusugawa Himeko. "I understand." If anything, the girl only stared at him in shock. She probably had gotten too used to him being cold-faced and harsh to cope with his current friendly attitude. "Chikane told us last night that _she_ was very fortunate in having _you_ for a girlfriend. I see that she is not wrong about that."

"Eh?"

"You have won, my dear Himeko. You have passed the test."

The girl was so confused that the only thing she could mutter was, "Eh?" Kyou chuckled quietly to himself. This was going to take a lot of explanation, he supposed.

"I think you should stop calling me Himemiya-san from now on too, Himeko."

"Eh?"

* * *

"You seem happy, Kyou-chan," Kimika said while pouring her husband a cup of tea. "I guess your little chat with Himeko went well." 

"It did." Kyou nodded, a small smile curving his lips.

"What do you think about the kid now?" Kimika took a sip at her own tea.

"She is very honest and kind." Her husband chuckled softly. "She does not have a temper, she likes to speak her mind, and she loves our daughter a lot. She is a little bit clumsy when expressing her feelings, though, but that can be worked on."

"Fine traits to have, are they not?" Kimika said. "Although anyone who talks to her in five minutes would know all about those," she pointed out. "I am surprised that you did not see her good points when we had dinner with her last night."

"I did," the twenty-ninth head of the Himemiya Clan answered dryly. "But what do you know; first impressions are almost always misleading."

"Well, what did you tell her anyway?"

"I tried to bribe her, threaten her, intimidate her, scare her." Kyou laughed. "I failed in every one of those. She passed the test with flying colors."

"I guess we are not separating them, then?" Kimika chuckled. She had known ever since last night that the girl was strong enough to stand up to the C.E.O. of Himemiya International.

"You _never_ had any intention of doing that, Kimika," her husband said.

"No." Kimika shook her head. "Unlike a heartless someone, I never plan to do something that can make my daughter cry."

Quiet laughter answered her.

"Just tell me one thing, Kyou-chan." Kimika put the cup of tea down on the table. "Was it _only_ a test?"

"What do you mean?"

"I have been your wife for too many years to not know what you think, oh my dear husband," Kimika said, voice serious. "You tried to get rid of her _for real_, did you not?"

"Saa, who knows?" The man stood up and walked to the window of his study while sipping at his tea, yet Kimika knew as well as he that the answer to her question _was_ a '_Yes'_.

* * *

So my Father has been toying with you since the beginning," Chikane said, annoyed. He forced her Himeko to stay home just for this? 

"Um, not toyed," the little angel giggled softly as she snuggled closer to Chikane. "He said test."

They were lying in bed, with the light of the late after noon sun shooting through their opened windows, with the golden-haired girl cuddled tightly in Chikane's embrace. It was only a day in which they were apart, yet she missed Himeko so much it was open wonder how she was not driven insane.

Chikane had just come back from her shopping trip with her Mother and Himemiya Kotone, who had been so engrossed in hitting the malls and stores that no one could have thought one of them was the C.F.O. of the powerful Himemiya International and the father of the other had a seat in the same company's Board of Executives. Chikane's Mother had said that it was Chikane who was weird if she was not excited about it. Kotone simply commented that Chikane was out of her mind.

"He made you cry," Chikane said flatly. Himemiya Kyou-sama was going to have an earful from her after this.

"I don't mind," the golden-haired girl cooed softly as Chikane stroke her head. "As long as he's okay with me being your girlfriend, I don't mind."

"What did he tell you afterwards, though?"

"He said there was no need to worry anymore, that from today onward, the Mansion will be my home," the little angel murmured. "He said he was going to pay for my education, too, that I could go as far as I wanted. He's very nice, isn't he?"

"Well, I expect him to do so anyway, but yes, it was very nice of him to offer you that." Chikane smiled. "What else?"

The golden-haired girl blushed hotly. "He said… he was going to throw a Christmas party in Mahoroba this year," she murmured again. "His friends would come, and he would introduce me to them… as your fiancée. He seemed… to be looking forward to surprising them. He scared me a little bit when he talked about wanting to see the look on his friends' faces, though."

"He said so?" Chikane said quietly, her whole body growing hot. "Wait, fiancée? Does that mean…." She suddenly felt suffocated by the revelation.

"Yeah." Himeko wrapped an arm around Chikane's waist and hugged her more tightly. "He said he would arrange a wedding for us once we graduated from high school." The angel's voice dropped to a whisper as her face drew slowly toward Chikane's. They kissed.

"I told him last night that I would like to marry you," Chikane said breathlessly once Himeko had released her lips from the sweet and passionate kiss. "But I did not imagine that he would grant my wish so easily."

"You told him… last night?" Himeko said quietly. "Why didn't you mention it?"

"Because I was waiting for something else, Himeko." Chikane chuckled softly after she had placed a quick peck on the little angel's forehead.

"What's that something else?"

Chikane withdrew her arm, which made a regretful sigh escape Himeko's lips, and reached her hand into her coat pocket.

"This." When she took her hand out, she was holding a pair of simple gold bands, one carved with her own name in a flourished hand on the surface and the other, with Himeko's. The angel's breath caught. "I sneaked away from Mother and Kotone today when we visited a large shopping mall just so I could go into a jewelry shop and got them for you." She stepped down from the bed, got down on one knee, and looked up at the love of her life, sitting at the edge of the mattress.

"Will you marry me?" she whispered as she took Himeko's hand into one of hers, the other holding the gold band carved with the golden-haired girl's name. Chikane's sweetheart went red in the face but at the same time, her expression grew affectionate enough to make Chikane's heart skip a beat.

"Do you have to ask?" the little anger whispered back, her voice sounding warmer than fire, sweeter than honey. "Yes." She pulled Chikane back onto the bed once Chikane had slipped the band around her ring finger on her left hand. There, the little angel cuddled her lightly and gave her kisses that curled her every toe and heated up her blood.

"Do you not think you should reward me more than that?" Chikane whispered into the angel's ear afterwards, hands caressing her cheeks. "These bands cost a small fortune." The golden-haired girl blushed even redder than the sun that was sinking into the faraway horizon. Still, her hands settled on the buttons of Chikane's white blouse as her body drew even closer.

It turned out that Chikane was unable to claim her reward right at that moment, for her Father was knocking on the door, calling, "Himeko, Kimika would like to see you. She said she bought a lot of clothes for you, child."

"I'm coming, Kyou-chan," the little angel said, hastily scrambling away from Chikane's embrace to her feet.

"Very well." Himemiya Kyou-sama's voice sounded exceptionally pleased. Slowly, his footsteps faded into the distance.

"Kyou-_chan_?" Chikane looked at her sweetheart. Amusement seized her.

"Well, um," the other girl stuttered. "He said he didn't want to be called _Himemiya-san_ by his future daughter-in-law, and that he wanted a nickname like the one I gave your mom, so…."

"You're doing well with my parents, you know." Chikane chuckled. "First you called my Mother Kimika-chan, now my Father Kyou-chan. I think they will grow to love you much more than they do me."

"That's not possible," the little angel mumbled.

"Not that I mind, of course." Chikane stood up, re-buttoning those few her lover had managed to undo prior to her Father's _extremely_ untimely knocks. "The more they love you, the happier I am." She smiled at the little angel. "But shall we go? Let's see what my Mother got for you."

"Sure."

They walked out of the room, arm in arm, both could not seem to stop smiling. There was another year until graduation, another three hundred and sixty-five days until Himeko officially became a part of the family, but waiting anxiously during that time made the prize all the sweeter to have, of course.

THE END


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